Lok Sabha speaker initiates impeachment process against Justice Yashwant Varma

Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla on Tuesday constituted a threemember committee to probe charges against Justice Yashwant Varma after admitting a multiparty notice for his removal setting in motion the process of impeachment of the Allahabad High Court judge reported news agency PTIThe 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 reported PTIThe 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 reported PTIBirla 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 21Justice 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 14After 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 inhouse procedure reported PTIBirla said unblemished character and financial and intellectual integrity were the foundation of the trust a common person has in the judiciaryThe 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 reported PTIThe Lok Sabha speaker said he has accepted the proposal and constituted a threemember committee for the removal of Justice Varma from his post in accordance with Section 32 of the Judges Inquiry Act 1968Earlier then Chief Justice of India Sanjiv Khanna had initiated an inhouse probe into the allegations and set up the threemember committee in March to conduct the inquiryThe 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 4After receiving the report the CJI asked Justice Varma to resign or face impeachment proceedingsHowever since Justice Varma declined to quit CJI Khanna forwarded the report and the judges response on it to the president and the prime minister for removal of the judgeLast week the Supreme Court dismissed Justice Varmas plea against CJI Khannas recommendation for his removalJustice 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 2012Justice Kumar was appointed as chief justice of the Gujarat High Court in 2021 and elevated as judge of the Supreme Court in February 2023Hailing 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 2021The 91yearold 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 2012Acharya was also the special public prosecutor in the disproportionate assets case against former Tamil Nadu chief minister J Jayalalithaa and othersWith inputs from PTI