Cash At Residence Row: Centre Likely To Move Impeachment Motion Against Justice Yashwant Varma

In a recent development, the Centre is poised to introduce an impeachment motion against Allahabad High Court judge Yashwant Varma in Parliament, following a damning indictment by a Supreme Court-appointed probe panel. This comes after a substantial amount of burnt cash was discovered at his official residence in the national capital.

As per the PTI report, the government indicated that an impeachment motion in Parliament, scheduled to convene during the Monsoon Session in July's second half, is a likely course of action if Justice Varma, who was transferred from Delhi High Court to Allahabad High Court following the incident, fails to step down voluntarily.

Chief Justice of India Sanjiv Khanna had written a letter to the President and the Prime Minister recommending impeachment of Verma. Khanna had sent this letter after an internal investigation panel set up by the Supreme Court had indicted Verma, although its findings were not made public.

CJI Khanna had nudged Varma to resign but he had refused, sources said.

However, an official source added that a formal process for the action against Varma has not begun yet.

Varma has claimed innocence, denying any link to the cash that was discovered following a fire at his outhouse.

Government sources said they would take opposition parties into confidence before moving against Varma, who has faced criticism from political parties across the spectrum, PTI reported.

"A final decision on the matter will be taken soon. It is difficult to ignore such a visible scandal," a source said.

An impeachment motion could be brought in either of the two Houses of Parliament.

In the Rajya Sabha, at least 50 members have to sign the motion and in the Lok Sabha, 100 members have to support it.

Once the motion is passed with a two-thirds vote in support, the Lok Sabha speaker or the Rajya Sabha chairman writes to the CJI to nominate a sitting Supreme Court judge and a chief justice of a high court for a probe committee.

The government, on its part, nominates an "eminent jurist" to the panel that investigates the charges mentioned in the motion.

The government, the sources said, would like the motion to be supported by all parties and would consult them on the draft of the motion, which will carry the findings of the three-member committee that investigated the discovery of wads of half-burnt cash from the residence of the judge who was then with the Delhi High Court.

He was later repatriated to the Allahabad HC.

Case Background

On March 14, a fire incident occurred at Yashwant Varma's official residence in Delhi during Holi celebrations. Emergency services were called, leading to the recovery of a huge amount of unaccounted cash, and a police investigation followed the incident.

After the incident, the Supreme Court Collegium has transferred Delhi High Court judge Yashwant Varma to the Allahabad High Court.