Union Minister Kiren Rijiju confirms Lok Sabha will first take up the motion to remove Justice Yashwant Verma, amid growing calls for judicial accountability in the impeachment row.
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NEW DELHI: Union Parliamentary Affairs Minister Kiren Rijiju announced that the motion for the removal of Justice Yashwant Verma will be first introduced in the Lok Sabha, as per constitutional procedure. The announcement follows serious allegations involving Justice Verma, after burnt wads of cash were discovered at his residence following a mysterious fire incident.
ALSO READ: What’s Next for Justice Yashwant Varma? Impeachment Heat Rises After Burnt Cash Discovery
Rijiju clarified that the move to impeach Justice Verma isn’t a unilateral decision by the government but a collective parliamentary responsibility. Speaking to reporters, he said,
“The motion for the removal of Justice Yashwant Verma will be raised in the Lok Sabha, and then subsequently, it will be concurred by the Rajya Sabha. All political parties have agreed that the removal has to be a joint call.”
He emphasized that corruption in the judiciary cannot be ignored and must be confronted with transparency and consensus. The motion marks a rare and serious constitutional move, involving Articles 124, 217, and 218 of the Indian Constitution, that govern the appointment and removal of judges from the higher judiciary.
The gravity of the allegations has triggered a strong party’s action. Rijiju confirmed that over 100 Members of Parliament have already signed the impeachment motion. As of July 21, a total of 145 MPs submitted a memorandum to Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla, demanding action against Justice Verma.
Signatories to the motion come from a wide spectrum of parties, including,
- Congress
- TDP
- JDU
- JDS
- Jan Sena Party
- AGP
- Shiv Sena (Shinde faction)
- LJSP
- SKP
- CPM
Prominent names among the signatories include Rahul Gandhi, Ravi Shankar Prasad, Anurag Thakur, Supriya Sule, KC Venugopal, Rajiv Pratap Rudy, and PP Chaudhary, indicating a united political front on the issue.
In parallel, the Centre is working on forming an independent probe committee to investigate the serious allegations against Justice Verma. According to sources, the committee is likely to include:
- A sitting Supreme Court judge
- A Chief Justice from any High Court
- A distinguished jurist
This follows the constitutional mandate laid out for the impeachment of judges, which includes both judicial and non-judicial scrutiny before any final parliamentary vote.
ALSO READ: Cash Discovery Row| Centre Initiates Impeachment Against Justice Yashwant Varma
Under Articles 124 and 217, judges of the Supreme Court and High Courts can be removed for proved misbehaviour or incapacity. The process involves:
- A motion signed by at least 100 Lok Sabha or 50 Rajya Sabha MPs.
- Admission and scrutiny by the Speaker or Chairman.
- Formation of an inquiry committee.
- If the judge is found guilty, both Houses must pass the motion with a two-thirds majority.
While Rijiju stated that the issue will be taken up in due course, he refrained from giving a specific date, saying it depends on the Business Advisory Committee’s scheduling and approval by the Chair.
Justice Yashwant Varma “Cash at Home” Case
On 15th March, Justice Yashwant Varma’s official apartment in the 30-Tughlak Crescent neighborhood of Delhi caught fire. Authorities discovered massive piles of burned money in his home’s storeroom after the fire was put out. The inquiry report, which India Today was able to see, stated that the money was strewn all over the room and reached a height of 1.5 feet.
According to the report, 17 people, including his daughter, spent the night of March 14–15 at his home. Justice Varma and his family were in “covert” and “active” management of the storeroom where the cash was discovered. Additionally, because the storage was kept secure and only the judge and his immediate family could enter, the panel disregarded the involvement of any outsiders.
There was cash in the storeroom, which made the fire worse. The staff of Justice Varma tried to remove the burnt cash. In addition to that personal secretary of Justice Varma, Rahendar Singh Karki, was the first person to inform Justice about the fire, and he kept calling him all night to give updates.
Instead of giving a proper explanation, he gave a flat denial and called it a “conspiracy “. But the committee did not accept this explanation.
ALSO READ: Impeachment Process: A Critical Look At Justice Shekhar Yadav And Justice Yashwant Varma
After this, the Supreme Court transferred Justice Varma from the Delhi High Court to the Allahabad High Court. Also, the Chief Justice Allahabad High Court has been asked not to assign any work to Justice Varma “for the time being“.
The Chief Justice of India at the time, Sanjiv Khanna, forwarded the inquiry report to both the President and the Prime Minister. This is only done when the judge refuses to resign, and the charges are found serious enough for removal.
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