New Delhi: The Centre might bring a motion of impeachment against Justice Yashwant Varma in the upcoming session of the Parliament over allegations of a large amount of cash found at his Delhi residence in March this year.
As per a report published in Hindustan Times, the impeachment process is likely to be initiated by the offices of the Lok Sabha Speaker and the Rajya Sabha Chairman. It may be noted that for an impeachment motion against a judge of the constitutional court, at least 50 MPs need to back the same in the Rajya Sabha and 100 MPs in the Lok Sabha. For the motion to pass, a two-thirds majority is required in each house.
If the impeachment is passed against Justice Varma, he will be the first judge of the constituent court to face the same. Notably, even as opposition leaders have called for his impeachment, the government is not entirely against the idea. Even Vice President Jagdeep Dhankhar has questioned the delay in filing a case in the matter.
Govt reached out to Cong last year
The report published by Hindustan Times last week noted that the government had recently reached out to a senior Congress leader to understand the party’s stance on the issue. The Opposition party is still to consult the Trinamool Congress on the issue.
Recently, former Chief Justice of India Sanjiv Khanna wrote a letter to President Droupadi Murmu and Prime Minister Narendra Modi, observing that the allegations regarding the large amount of cash from Justice Varma’s residence were serious and warranted the initiation of proceedings for his removal as per the Constitution of India.
Earlier on May 5, a three-member inquiry committee submitted its report to the CJI with confirmation that cash was found at the residence of the judge, who at the time was a sitting Delhi High Court judge. This cash was found in a storeroom where a fire broke out in March.
