Today, On 17th June, Senior Advocate Kapil Sibal criticised the Supreme Court-appointed inquiry panel, stating, “3-member committee condemned the judge without providing him a chance to defend himself.” He called out the lack of due process and procedural fairness in the probe.
Senior advocate and Rajya Sabha MP Kapil Sibal criticized the Supreme Court’s internal inquiry into Justice Yashwant Varma on Tuesday, arguing that the three-member committee condemned the judge without providing him a chance to defend himself or adhering to proper procedures.
During a press conference, he pointed out that the committee’s report failed to specify the amount of money found in the outhouse adjacent to Justice Varma’s residence in New Delhi.
Sibal stated that the committee inferred that if cash was found in the outhouse, it must have been with the judge’s approval.
The inquiry was conducted by Justice Sheel Nagu, Chief Justice of the Punjab and Haryana High Court; Justice G.S. Sandhawalia, Chief Justice of the Himachal Pradesh High Court; and Justice Anu Sivaraman of the Karnataka High Court.
Sibal remarked,
“You decided against a High Court judge without any inquiry and procedure… The judge was not even heard. This is absolutely shocking,”
He emphasized that, unlike Justice Varma’s situation, previous impeachment cases against judges had undisputed facts.
Sibal also alleged that the Centre is shielding Allahabad High Court Judge Shekhar Kumar Yadav, who faced accusations of making “communal” remarks in 2024.
He asserted,
“Unfortunately, the political class is brought into the act, and this government is protecting a judge (Justice Shekhar Kumar Yadav). For all impeachments in the past, the case here is entirely different,”
This controversy arose following a fire at Justice Varma’s residence in New Delhi in March, which led to the discovery of unaccounted cash in an outhouse.
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Earlier, in an interview Senior Advocate and Rajya Sabha MP Kapil Sibal, who has previously been involved in two judicial impeachment proceedings, recently shared his strong opinion on the current case related to Justice Yashwant Varma of the Delhi High Court.
He raised concerns regarding the absence of solid evidence, the handling of the investigation, and the government’s involvement. He made it clear that he does not think the impeachment case against Justice Varma rests on strong legal foundations.