The Supreme Court on Thursday denied tainted Allahabad High Court judge Justice Yashwant Varma an extension of time for filing his response before the Parliamentary Committee, which is scheduled to be given on January 12.
The top court reserved its decision on Justice Varma’s plea challenging the validity of the Parliamentary Committee set up by the speaker of Lok Sabha to probe corruption charges against him on the ground that the motion seeking his removal was rejected by the Deputy Chairman of the Rajya Sabha.
During the hearing, Justice Varma contended that when a mptive of removal is given in both the Houses of Parliament on the same day, formation of a Joint-Committee in furtherance of the motion requires that the motion be admitted in both the Houses.
He further argued that the motion had been rejected by the Deputy Chairman of the Rajya Sabha rendering the Committee unsustainable as per the Judges (Inquiry) Act, which provides the procedure for removal of a judge.
Earlier in August last year, Speaker Om Birla had announced the formation of a 3 Member Inquiry Committee to investigate allegations against Justice Yashwant Varma in connection with the recovery of burnt currency notes from his residence in Delhi.
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The committee was formed under Section 3(2) of the Judges (Inquiry) Act, 1968. The committee was tasked with conducting a thorough inquiry into the burnt cash recovery.
On March 15, 2025, a minor fire had erupted in Justice Varma’s Delhi residence. During the firefighting operation, fire tenders allegedly recovered bundles of burnt curreny notes, raising allegations of corruption against the judge.
Following the recovery, the Supreme Court had conducted an in-house inquiry and found Justice Varma guilty of misconduct.
The top court asked Justice Varma to step down or face impeachement. He, however, chose not to step down, following which the Supreme Court forwarded the inquiry report to President of India, Droupadi Murmu and Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
In July last year, about 146 MPs signed a proposal to remove Justice Varma and submitted it to Speaker Birla. An empeachment motion was moved in both the Houses. The motion will be considered after the Inquiry Committee report.