Justice Yashwant Varma Impeachment Updates | Impeachment proceedings have been initiated against former Delhi High Court judge Justice Yashwant Varma after a memorandum bearing signatures of 152 Members of Parliament was submitted to Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla on Monday. This follows the recovery of piles of burnt ₹500 currency notes from a property linked to the judge earlier this year.
MPs from both ruling and opposition parties — including the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), Congress, Communist Party of India (Marxist), Telugu Desam Party (TDP), Janata Dal United (JDU), and Janata Dal Secular (JDS) — have endorsed the motion. Notable signatories include BJP’s Anurag Thakur, Congress leader Rahul Gandhi, and Supriya Sule from the Nationalist Congress Party.
Judge Yashwant Varma Case: Burnt Cash Discovery Sparks Constitutional Action
The impeachment motion was filed under Articles 124, 217, and 218 of the Constitution, which lay down the removal process of High Court and Supreme Court judges. Though the Constitution does not explicitly use the term “impeachment” for judges, the process is governed by the Judges Inquiry Act of 1968.
In the Lok Sabha, a minimum of 100 MPs must sign the motion to initiate the process. The current memorandum, submitted with 145 signatures, exceeds the required threshold. Once admitted, the Speaker is expected to examine the materials and take the procedure forward.
Visuals from the judge’s central Delhi residence, where the incident occurred, showed burnt cash piles in the outhouse allegedly maintained by the judge and his family. Justice Varma has denied any wrongdoing, terming the allegations “preposterous” and pointing to a “conspiracy” against him.
Parliamentary Affairs Minister Kiren Rijiju had confirmed on Sunday that over 100 MPs, including around three dozen from the Congress, had signed the memorandum.
Supreme Court Panel Recommended Impeachment
The incident, which came to light on March 15, led the Supreme Court to set up an in-house committee to investigate the matter. The committee, in its 64-page report, recommended impeachment. The report was sent to President Droupadi Murmu and Prime Minister Narendra Modi by then Chief Justice of India Sanjiv Kumar.
Justice Varma, who has been repatriated to the Allahabad High Court and is no longer on active duty, has moved the Supreme Court challenging the committee’s findings. He has questioned the jurisdiction of the in-house panel and argued that the Supreme Court has no disciplinary authority over High Court judges. He also alleged that the panel ignored critical questions that could support his claim of innocence and denied him a fair hearing.
The impeachment of Justice Yashwant Varma marks a significant moment in India’s judicial and constitutional history, as no High Court or Supreme Court judge has ever been formally impeached since independence.
