Om Birla reconstituted a three-member panel to probe the removal of Justice Yashwant Varma after burnt cash was found at his residence. The committee, formed after accepting a multi-party notice against the Allahabad High Court judge, continues impeachment proceedings.
NEW DELHI: Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla reconstituted the three-member panel tasked with probing the grounds for removing Justice Yashwant Varma, following the discovery of burnt bundles of cash at his residence in March last year.
The committee was originally formed on August 12 last year after the Speaker accepted a multi-party notice seeking the Allahabad High Court judge’s removal, thereby initiating impeachment proceedings.
A notification issued by Lok Sabha Secretary General Utpal Kumar Singh reads as,
“In partial modification of the Notification … the Speaker, Lok Sabha, has reconstituted with effect from the 6th March, 2026, for the purpose of making an investigation into the grounds on which the removal of Justice Yashwant Varma of the Allahabad High Court is prayed for, a Committee consisting of the following three Members:- 1 Hon’ble Justice Aravind Kumar, Supreme Court of India; 2 Hon’ble Justice Shree Chandrashekhar, Chief Justice of the Bombay High Court; and 3. Shri B.V. Acharya, Senior Advocate, Karnataka High Court,”
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Three-member panel:
- Justice Aravind Kumar
- Senior Advocate B.V. Acharya
- Justice Shree Chandrashekhar
Two members Justice Aravind Kumar and senior advocate B.V. Acharya have been retained from the earlier panel. Justice Shree Chandrashekhar joins as a new member, replacing Madras High Court Chief Justice Manindra Mohan Shrivastava.
Earlier Three Member Panel:
Earlier, on 12th August, Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla had officially announced the creation of a three-member inquiry committee to investigate allegations made against High Court judge Justice Yashwant Varma.
He said:
“The members of the Committee include Justice Arvind Kumar, Supreme Court Judge, Justice Maninder Mohan Srivastava, Chief Justice Madras High Court, and BV Acharya, Senior Advocate, Karnataka High Court. The committee will submit its report as early as possible. The proposal will remain pending till the receipt of the report of the inquiry committee.”
This means that the matter will not move forward in Parliament until the special committee gives its findings. The panel consists of top judicial figures one Supreme Court judge, one High Court Chief Justice, and a senior advocate ensuring that the investigation is done fairly and in detail.
Such an inquiry process is a rare and serious step under Article 124(4) and (5) of the Constitution, which deals with the removal of judges through impeachment proceedings.
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Once the committee finishes its investigation, its report will decide whether Parliament will proceed with any action against Justice Yashwant Varma. The inclusion of respected judges and senior advocates in the panel is meant to maintain trust and transparency in the process.
Constitutional Provisions:
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.
ALSO READ: In Lieu of the Fire: A Diary of Events in the Case of Justice Yashwant Verma
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.
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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