LS Speaker sets up panel to probe Justice Varma, admits removal notice

Three-member committee to investigate corruption charges against Allahabad High Court judge after multi-party notice in Lok Sabha

New Delhi: Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla on Tuesday constituted a three-member committee to probe charges against Justice Yashwant Varma after admitting a multi-party notice for his removal, setting in motion the process of impeachment of the Allahabad High Court judge.

The inquiry committee comprises Supreme Court judge Justice Aravind Kumar, Madras High Court Chief Justice Manindra Mohan Shrivastava and senior Karnataka High Court advocate B V Acharya. “The committee will submit its report as early as possible. The proposal (for removal of Justice Varma) will remain pending till the receipt of the report of the inquiry committee,” Birla said.

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Birla said he had received a proposal from 146 Lok Sabha members, including Ravi Shankar Prasad and Leader of Opposition Rahul Gandhi, seeking removal of Justice Varma on July 21. Justice Varma was repatriated from the Delhi High Court to the Allahabad High Court after burnt wads of currency notes were found at his official residence here on March 14.

After referring to relevant laws and judgements of the Supreme Court, the Delhi High Court chief justice found the charges against Justice Varma were of serious nature and followed it up with the “in-house procedure”.

Birla said unblemished character and financial and intellectual integrity were the foundation of the trust a common person has in the judiciary. “The facts connected in the present case point towards corruption and are eligible for action as per Article 124, Article 217 and Article 218 of the Constitution of India. Parliament needs to speak in one voice on this issue and every citizen of this country should send a clear message about its commitment to zero tolerance to corruption,” Birla said.

The Lok Sabha speaker said he has accepted the proposal and constituted a three-member committee for the removal of Justice Varma from his post in accordance with Section 3(2) of the Judges (Inquiry) Act 1968. Earlier, then Chief Justice of India Sanjiv Khanna had initiated an in-house probe into the allegations and set up the three-member committee in March to conduct the inquiry.

The committee comprising Punjab and Haryana High Court Chief Justice Sheel Nagu, Himachal Pradesh High Court Chief Justice GS Sandhawalia and Karnataka High Court Justice Anu Sivaraman submitted its report on May 4.

After receiving the report, the CJI asked Justice Varma to resign or face impeachment proceedings. However, since Justice Varma declined to quit, CJI Khanna forwarded the report and the judge’s response on it to the president and the prime minister for removal of the judge.

Last week, the Supreme Court dismissed Justice Varma’s plea against CJI Khanna’s recommendation for his removal. Justice Aravind Kumar earned his law degree from Bangalore University and enrolled as an advocate in 1987. He was elevated as the additional judge of the Karnataka High Court in 2009, and became a permanent judge in 2012.

Justice Kumar was appointed as chief justice of the Gujarat High Court in 2021 and elevated as judge of the Supreme Court in February 2023. Hailing from Bilaspur in Chhattisgarh, Justice Shrivastava was chief justice of the Rajasthan High Court before he was moved as chief justice of the Madras High Court. He was elevated as a judge of the Chhattisgarh High Court in December 2009 and transferred to Rajasthan in October 2021.

The 91-year-old Acharya is a veteran jurist with a career spanning over six decades. He has held the post of advocate general of Karnataka on five occasions between 1989 and 2012. Acharya was also the special public prosecutor in the disproportionate assets case against former Tamil Nadu chief minister J Jayalalithaa and others.