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Cash row: Govt will reach out to opposition parties for removal of Justice Varma
For the removal of a sitting judge, the motion requires the signatures of 100 MPs in the Lok Sabha and 50 in the Rajya Sabha
Union parliamentary affairs minister Kiren Rijiju on Thursday said the government will reach out to opposition parties to seek the signatures of lawmakers in both Houses of Parliament to initiate the process of Justice Yashwant Varma’s removal in the cash discovery row.
The minister said once the motion of removal with the requisite signatures is tabled in either House, the chair will constitute a committee to examine the charges of corruption against the sitting high court judge, which have been corroborated by a Supreme Court appointed committee.
“I have spoken to prominent opposition parties who have in principle agreed for his removal. We will follow the laid down procedure (for the process). The government wants matters related to judiciary should be beyond political lines and there should be consensus and unified stand,” he said.
“We will start the process of seeking signatures for the motion of removal. Once that is done, we will decide which house to submit it in,” Rijiju said.
Also Read: Committee discusses judges’ conduct, flags row over justice Varma
For the removal of a sitting judge, the motion requires the signatures of 100 MPs in the Lok Sabha and 50 in the Rajya Sabha.
The minister also said that the presiding officer of the House in which the motion is moved, will then set up a committee as per the required procedure.
It was earlier indicated that Parliament may consider going with the report of the SC appointed committee, but the minister clarified that the report of that in-house probe committee cannot be tabled in Parliament.
“The earlier report was to see if it is a fit case for recommending it to the government. It was a preliminary one,” Rijiju said.
According to the Judges (Inquiry) Act of 1968, once a motion to remove a judge is admitted in any of the Houses, the speaker or the chairman, as the case may be, will constitute a three-member committee to investigate the grounds on which the removal has been sought.
The committee consists of the chief justice of India (CJI) or a Supreme Court judge, the chief justice of one of the 25 high courts and a distinguished jurist.
Listing the process for the removal of Justice Verma, he said the report of the committee constituted by the Chairman or the speaker as the case may be, will be tabled in Parliament and on that basis the discussion will start.
Another person aware of the details said the government is exploring provisions to do away with the three-month tenure of the committee that will submit its report to Parliament.
The government has clearly stated that it intends to bring a motion for the removal of Justice Verma from whose official residence currency was recovered during a fire in March this year. The motion is expected to be moved in the upcoming session of parliament that begins on July 21 and will end on August 21.
While the opposition parties are also pushing for the removal of another sitting judge Justice Shekhar Yadav of the Allahabad HC, the government has sought to delink the two cases “The case of Justice Yadav is not similar to that of Justice Verma… in the latter’s case it is case of corruption involving the judiciary. It is above party politics…” said the second person quoted above.
The motion for Justice Yadav’s removal on ground of having made a hate speech at a function organised by the Vishwa Hindu Parishad is pending with the Rajya Sabha chairman. More than 50 MPs have signed the petition for his removal and the chairman, Jagdeep Dhankhar is expected to announce a ruling soon said people aware of the issue.
On the decision to extend the upcoming monsoon session, the minister said, there is legislative business that has to be taken up, without providing specific details. An all-party meeting to discuss the business will be held on July 19 he said.
