The Supreme Court on Tuesday issued notice to the Secretary General of the Lok Sabha on a petition filed by Allahabad High Court judge Justice Yashwant Varma, challenging the constitution of a three-member parliamentary inquiry committee formed to probe allegations of corruption against him under the Judges (Inquiry) Act, 1968.
The Bench led by Justice Dipankar Datta sought the response of Lok Sabha Secretary General Utpal Kumar Singh on the petition, which challenged the legality and constitutional validity of the three-member inquiry committee constituted exclusively by the Lok Sabha in terms of the procedure prescribed under the Judges (Inquiry) Act.
The Counsel for the petitioner contended that once a motion for removal of a High Court judge was introduced in both Houses of Parliament, the statutory scheme mandated the constitution of a three-member inquiry committee through a joint process involving the Lok Sabha and the Rajya Sabha. The formation of such a committee solely at the instance of the Speaker of the Lok Sabha violated the letter and spirit of the Act as well as the constitutional framework governing judicial accountability, he pointed out.
The petition has been filed against the backdrop of ongoing proceedings before the inquiry committee headed by Supreme Court judge Justice Aravind Kumar. The panel, which also comprises Madras High Court Chief Justice M.M. Srivastava and senior advocate B.V. Acharya, was constituted on August 12 by Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla following the admission of a removal motion endorsed by 146 Members of Parliament.
The committee is examining allegations of serious misconduct arising from the discovery of burnt and unaccounted currency notes at Justice Varma’s official residence in New Delhi earlier this year. In its proceedings dated December 5, the committee directed Justice Varma to submit his response to a detailed memorandum of charges framed against him. While Justice Varma sought an eight-week extension to file his reply, the panel granted six weeks and clarified that no further extension would be entertained. The inquiry is slated to resume in the final week of January.
Along with the memorandum of charges, the committee has supplied supporting material, including video footage purportedly showing burning currency notes, recorded by personnel of the Delhi Police and the Delhi Fire Service on the night of March 14–15, when a fire was reported in a room within the judge’s Lutyens’ Delhi bungalow. The evidence dossier also includes witness statements collected during an earlier in-house inquiry.
As part of the statutory inquiry process, Justice Varma has been afforded the opportunity to contest the allegations, lead evidence in his defence, examine witnesses supporting his case, and cross-examine those relied upon by the committee.
Soon after the cash was discovered at his residence, Justice Varma was transferred from the Delhi High Court to his parent Allahabad High Court and has since been relieved of judicial duties.
Separately, on March 22, then Chief Justice of India Sanjiv Khanna constituted a three-member in-house inquiry committee comprising Chief Justice Sheel Nagu of the Punjab and Haryana High Court, Chief Justice G.S. Sandhawalia of the Himachal Pradesh High Court, and Justice Anu Sivaraman of the Karnataka High Court. The committee submitted its report in early May.
The in-house panel rejected Justice Varma’s claim that the cash had been planted to tarnish his reputation. It concluded that the presence of currency notes in the storeroom of his official residence at 30, Tughlaq Crescent, New Delhi, stood established on the basis of direct and electronic evidence, corroborated by expert opinion. The report recorded that the electronic material—comprising videos and still photographs captured by first responders—was authenticated by the Central Forensic Science Laboratory, Chandigarh.
The report further noted that partially burnt ₹500 denomination notes were removed from the storeroom in the early hours of March 15 by household staff under supervision, after Justice Varma, who was out of station at the time, was informed of the incident over the telephone.
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