Today, Supreme Court has rejected a petition filed by Allahabad High Court judge Yashwant Varma, dealing a major setback to his challenge against the Lok Sabha Speaker’s decision to admit a motion seeking his removal and the legality of the parliamentary panel probing corruption allegations against him.

A Bench of Justices Dipankar Datta and SC Sharma delivered the verdict after reserving its decision on January 8.

Earlier, on December 16, the Supreme Court agreed to examine Justice Varma’s plea in which he questioned the Speaker’s move to constitute a committee under the Judges (Inquiry) Act, 1968.

Represented by senior advocate Mukul Rohatgi, Justice Varma argued that the Speaker acted unilaterally and violated his right to equal protection under the law. He claimed that although notices seeking his removal were submitted in both Houses of Parliament on the same day, the committee was formed only by the Lok Sabha Speaker.

The case stems from a controversy that erupted on March 15 last year, when firefighters responding to a fire at Justice Varma’s Delhi residence allegedly found large quantities of burnt cash. The incident sparked serious concerns over corruption within the higher judiciary.

Justice Varma denied any link to the cash and described the allegations as “preposterous.” Despite this, the Supreme Court constituted an in-house committee, which later recommended his impeachment. The report was forwarded to President Droupadi Murmu and Prime Minister Narendra Modi by the then Chief Justice of India, Sanjiv Khanna.

Following the recommendation, Justice Varma approached the Supreme Court, challenging the panel’s findings. He filed the petition under the name “XXX,” keeping his identity confidential in court records.

He argued that the in-house committee lacked the jurisdiction to investigate a sitting judge and cited several grounds against his removal. The Supreme Court, however, rejected his plea, stating that it was not worth entertaining and criticising his conduct as “not confidence-inspiring.”