New Delhi | August 12, 2025
Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla has formally constituted a three-member inquiry committee under the Judges (Inquiry) Act, 1968 to investigate allegations against Justice Yashwant Varma, following the sensational discovery of large amounts of unaccounted cash at his official residence.
The committee will be headed by:
• Justice Arvind Kumar, Judge of the Supreme Court of India
• Justice M. M. Shrivastava, Chief Justice of the Madras High Court
• Vasudeva Acharya, Senior Advocate, Karnataka High Court
The move comes after 146 members of the Lok Sabha signed and submitted a notice of impeachment to the Speaker, seeking Justice Varma’s removal on the grounds of “proved misbehaviour” under Articles 124 and 217 of the Constitution.
As per constitutional procedure:
1. An impeachment motion must be backed by at least 100 Lok Sabha MPs or 50 Rajya Sabha MPs.
2. Once admitted by the Presiding Officer, a three-member committee is constituted—comprising a sitting judge of the Supreme Court, a Chief Justice of a High Court, and a distinguished jurist—to examine the charges.
3. If the committee finds the allegations valid, its report is placed before Parliament.
4. Removal requires two-thirds majority of MPs present and voting in both Houses.
The controversy began on March 14, when firefighters responding to a blaze at an outhouse in Justice Varma’s official residence in Delhi stumbled upon a huge stash of currency notes.
At that time, Justice Varma was serving in the Delhi High Court. The incident triggered public outrage and prompted then Chief Justice of India Sanjiv Khanna to order an in-house judicial inquiry.
The initial inquiry panel—comprising Justice Sheel Nagu (then Chief Justice, Punjab & Haryana High Court), Justice G. S. Sandhawalia (then Chief Justice, Himachal Pradesh High Court), and Justice Anu Sivaraman (Judge, Karnataka High Court)—submitted its prima facie report in May 2025, holding Justice Varma culpable.
Following this, Justice Varma was repatriated to the Allahabad High Court, and all judicial work was withdrawn from him. The CJI reportedly advised him to resign, but Justice Varma declined.
Last week, the Supreme Court dismissed Justice Varma’s petition challenging the in-house inquiry and the CJI’s recommendation for his removal, effectively clearing the way for the impeachment process.
With the Speaker’s latest move, the matter now enters the formal stage under the Judges (Inquiry) Act, which could lead to a rare case of a sitting High Court judge being impeached by Parliament.
