The Supreme Court will hear on Monday a plea filed by Justice Yashwant Varma challenging his indictment by an in-house panel in the cash-discovery case.
The hearing comes after 145 MPs from both ruling and Opposition parties submitted an impeachment notice to Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla on 21 July, seeking Justice Varma’s removal.
As per the apex court’s causelist, a Bench of Justices Dipankar Datta and AG Masih will take up the matter on 28 July.
Justice Varma filed a writ petition seeking to quash a communication sent by former CJI Sanjiv Khanna to the President and Prime Minister, recommending action.
He claimed that the in-house panel acted with a ‘pre-determined mindset’ and denied him a fair chance to defend himself.
CJI Steps Aside from Hearing
On Wednesday, the Supreme Court indicated that Chief Justice of India BR Gavai’s Bench will not hear the plea. The indication came after senior advocate Kapil Sibal mentioned the matter for urgent listing.
“I think that it may not be proper for me to pick up that matter because I was part of the conversation,” said CJI Gavai. He, however, assured Sibal that another Bench would be constituted to hear the matter.
Justice Yashwant Varma has faced intense scrutiny since 14 March. Burnt cash was discovered in an outhouse of his official residence during his tenure in the Delhi High Court.
Following the incident, Justice Varma was repatriated to the Allahabad High Court. A three-member in-house committee was formed to probe the allegations.
The committee found both direct and electronic evidence linking the storeroom to Justice Varma and his family. It stated that the burnt cash was removed during the early hours of 15 March.
The inquiry panel comprised:
- Chief Justice Sheel Nagu (Punjab and Haryana HC),
- CJ GS Sandhawalia (Himachal Pradesh HC), and
- Justice Anu Sivaraman (Karnataka HC)
It concluded that Justice Varma’s conduct warranted removal under Article 124(4) of the Constitution.
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