New Delhi: Prominent opposition parties have given their in-principle approval to support the motion to remove Allahabad High Court judge Yashwant Varma, and the process of collecting signatures could begin soon, Union Minister Kiren Rijiju said on Thursday.
He said the government is yet to decide whether the motion would be brought in the Lok Sabha or the Rajya Sabha.
For Lok Sabha, signatures of a minimum of 100 MPs are required. For the Rajya Sabha, the requirement is the support of at least 50 MPs.
According to the News18 report, Vice President Jagdeep Dhankhar is also likely to give a ruling in the case soon.
Wads of currency notes were discovered at Justice Varma’s official residence when a fire broke out there on March 14. The Supreme Court-appointed three-member panel recommended the impeachment of Justice Varma. The in-house panel, comprising Punjab and Haryana High Court Chief Justice Sheel Nagu, Himachal Pradesh Chief Justice GS Sandhawalia, and Karnataka High Court’s Justice Anu Sivaraman, submitted its findings to the former Chief Justice of India on May 4.
After a motion for impeachment is adopted, the Speaker/ Chairman must constitute a three-member committee of inquiry. The panel will be headed by the Chief Justice of India or a Supreme Court judge, and include a Chief Justice of any High Court, and a person who is in the opinion of the Speaker/ Chairman, a “distinguished jurist”. If the committee finds the individual guilty, the report is adopted by the House in which it was introduced, and the judge’s removal is debated.
Sanjiv Khanna initiated the process for the removal of justice Varma by writing to President Droupadi Murmu and Prime Minister Narendra Modi, stating that the allegations of recovery of cash at the judge’s residence was serious and warranted initiation of proceedings for his removal.
