The three-member panel of jurists probing the allegations against sitting high court judge justice Yashwant Varma has met once so far and it may take some time before it records the testimonies of the judge and prepares its report, officials aware of the detailssaid.
The panel, which comprises Supreme Court judge Arvind Kumar, chief justice of Madras high court Manindra Mohan Srivastava and jurist BB Acharya from Karnataka, will independently probe the charges against Justice Varma, who has been accused of keeping undisclosed sum of money at his official residence.
According to officials, the panel held a meeting in September and it is likely to hold its second meeting soon. After the formation of the committee — as mandated in the Constitution for impeachment of a high court judge— the panel will look into the charges, seek the reply of the accused judge, and submit a report to the House.
Parliamentary officials pointed out to HT that there is no deadline for the three-member committee to submit its report — which means that the panel is not bound to submit its report in the winter session of Parliament that usually starts from the middle of November.
“There is still a lot of time and there is no pressure on the panel for early submission,” said a senior official. He also pointed out that the panel will also ask justice Varma to respond to the charges against him. “If the panel finds justice Varma guilty, the report would be taken up in the Lok Sabha for further steps. The Lok Sabha will then fix a date for impeachment debate. Varma will participate in the debate,” said a senior official.
{{/usCountry}}“There is still a lot of time and there is no pressure on the panel for early submission,” said a senior official. He also pointed out that the panel will also ask justice Varma to respond to the charges against him. “If the panel finds justice Varma guilty, the report would be taken up in the Lok Sabha for further steps. The Lok Sabha will then fix a date for impeachment debate. Varma will participate in the debate,” said a senior official.
{{/usCountry}}After the formation of the panel on August 12, the Lok Sabha secretariat appointed two advocates to assist the panel on September 19. An internal circular of the Lok Sabha said the two advocates would “assist the committee constituted under the Judges (Inquiry) Act, 1968, for the purpose of making an investigation into the grounds on which the removal of justice Yashwant Varma of the Allahabad high court is sought.”
A controversy erupted in March when a stash of cash was discovered after a fire broke out at the residence of justice Varma, then a judge of the Delhi high court. The cash discovery row led to several steps, including a preliminary inquiry by Delhi high court chief justice DK Upadhyaya, judicial work being taken away from justice Varma in the Delhi high court, and later his transfer to his parent Allahabad high court sans judicial work.
On March 22, the top court formed an inquiry committee, comprising then high court chief justices Sheel Nagu (Punjab & Haryana), GS Sandhawalia (Himachal Pradesh), and justice Anu Sivaraman (Karnataka high court).
The 64-page inquiry report cited “strong inferential evidence” to conclude that justice Varma had “covert or active control” over the charred cash. The findings of the report were submitted to then CJI Sanjiv Khanna on May 3. Five days later, he wrote to the PM and President, recommending proceedings to remove justice Varma from office.