E-Paper
Supreme Court to hear Justice Yashwant Varma's plea against in-house committee report on Monday
Justice Varma said that the committee did not give him a fair chance to respond to the allegations before releasing its findings.
The Supreme Court will hear on Monday, July 28, Justice Yashwant Varma's plea challenging the in-house committee report against him.
The in-house three-judge inquiry report indicting him, confirmed the recovery of unaccounted cash from the official residence of the Allahabad High Court judge.
Justice Varma said that the committee did not give him a fair chance to respond to the allegations before releasing its findings, ANI repor.
The inquiry had concluded that there was “strong inferential evidence” of Justice Varma's “covert or active control” on the burnt currency recovered from his residence.
According to people familiar with the matter, Varma's legal team had sought an urgent listing of the matter.
While agreeing to list the matter, CJI Gavai had recused himself from hearing the plea. He noted that it would be inappropriate for him to do so, given his prior involvement in internal deliberations related to the case.
Impeachment proceedings against Justice Varma soon: Union minister Kiren Rijiju
Meanwhile, Union Parliamentary Affairs Minister Kiren Rijiju on Friday said that the Lok Sabha would soon initiate proceedings to impeach Justice Varma.
“We shouldn’t remain in any doubt, proceedings to remove Justice Yashwant Varma will begin in Lok Sabha,” Rijiju said, adding that all parties had agreed to move the motion unitedly.
After the corruption allegations, Justice Varma was relieved of judicial duties and repatriated to his parent high court in April earlier this year.
On the first day of the current Parliament session, 149 Lok Sabha MPs and 63 Rajya Sabha MPs submitted separate notices to their respective Houses for the impeachment.
The constitutional requirement to initiate the formal process of removal is the approval of 100 MPs from the Lok Sabha and 50 MPs from the Rajya Sabha.
The impeachment motion will need to be debated and passed by a majority of the total membership and by two thirds of the members present and voting in each House.
