Impeachment Explained As The Centre Likely To Move Against Justice Yashwant Varma In Cash Row
The Union government is reportedly planning to bring an impeachment motion against Allahabad High Court judge Yashwant Varma in parliament. After officials discovered a huge sum of burnt cash from his official residence in Delhi while serving as Delhi High Court Judge, a Supreme Court-appointed probe panel indicted Varma. As an administrative measure, Varma was transferred from Delhi High Court to Allahabad High Court after the incident, and he did not resign despite mounting pressure.
It is reported that the impeachment motion will be tabled during the Monsoon Session of the Parliament starting in the second half of July. Former Chief Justice of India Sanjiv Khanna wrote to the President and the Prime Minister, recommending his impeachment, after conducting an in-house inquiry. The inquiry’s findings have not been made public yet.
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Notably, Varma has denied any link to the cash that the fire officials discovered in his outhouse following a fire incident. As per reports by NDTV citing sources, the Centre is likely to take opposition parties into confidence before moving against Varma, who has faced criticism equally from political parties and Bar associations.
How A Sitting Judge Can Be Impeached?
According to the provisions of the Indian Constitution, a judge can be removed only by an order of the President, based on a motion passed by both houses of Parliament. An impeachment motion could be brought in either of the two Houses of Parliament, and it requires the signature of at least 50 members in the Rajya Sabha, and the support of 100 members in the Lok Sabha. After the motion is passed, with a two-thirds vote in support, the Lok Sabha speaker or the Rajya Sabha chair writes to the CJI to nominate a sitting Supreme Court judge and a chief justice of a High Court for a probe committee. The committee will then frame charges based on which the investigation will be conducted.
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After concluding its investigation, the committee will submit its report to the speaker or chair, who will then lay the report before the relevant house of parliament. If the report records a finding of misbehavior or incapacity, the motion for removal will be taken up for consideration and debated. If the motion is adopted by this majority, the motion will be sent to the other house for adoption. Once the motion is adopted in both houses, it is sent to the President, who will issue an order for the removal of the judge.
