All Parties Support Impeachment of Justice Yashwant Varma After Burned Cash Found at Home
After burned money was discovered in Justice Yashwant Varma's home, all political parties are in favor of his impeachment. According to Kiren Rijiju, judicial corruption is a sensitive and severe matter.
Aadrika Tayal 
New Delhi (India) July 19: Parliamentary Affairs Minister Kiren Rijiju declares that all political parties support the effort to remove Justice Yashwant Varma from office. The decision comes after the discovery of burnt currency notes at the judge's home.
All Parties Back Impeachment Move
He clarifies that members of Parliament from all parties, including the Congress, are supporting the resolution to remove Justice Varma. The initiative is not being led by the administration.
He said, “I have spoken to all the senior leaders of different political parties. I will also get in touch with some of the single-MP parties because I do not want to leave out any member. So it becomes a unified stand of the Parliament of India.”
He also added, “Corruption in the judiciary is an extremely sensitive and serious matter, because the judiciary is where people get justice. If there is corruption in the judiciary, it is a serious concern for everybody. That is why the motion for the removal of Justice Yashwant Varma is to be signed by all the political parties.”
The procedure consists of a three-month investigation. The inquiry report is the basis for a discussion in both Houses of Parliament.
The Congress also promises that every member of parliament will back the resolution against Justice Varma.
Rijju said, “I am happy that they understood things as they should be, because no party can be seen to be standing with a corrupt judge or protecting a corrupt judge” regarding Congress’s support.
A resolution to remove a judge must be signed by at least 100 Lok Sabha members and 50 Rajya Sabha members. After receiving the petition, the chair will notify the House. It will also begin an investigation under the Judges Inquiry Act.
Justice Varma Challenges Process in SC
Justice Yashwant Varma petitions in the Supreme Court to overturn the legality of the procedure. The CJI has appointed a three-member inquiry panel that found him guilty of having a sizable amount of unaccounted cash at his official residence.
In his writ petition, Justice Varma cites his 11-year flawless career as a constitutional court judge. He says to the Supreme Court that the inquiry committee's process is flawed because he was not given enough time to defend himself.
The committee includes Karnataka High Court's Anu Sivaraman, Himachal Pradesh Chief Justice G S Sandhawalia and Punjab and Haryana Chief Justice Sheel Nagu.
The petition emphasizes that the investigation's results are based only on assumptions. The "discovery" of cash is not even the subject of a legal complaint. It claims that some officials' private photographs and recordings served as the basis for the entire sequence of events.
The decision to impeach Justice Varma comes after bags containing partially burned cash were found in the outhouse after a fire at his Lutyens' Delhi home in March. He was a judge in the Delhi High Court at the time.
Aadrika Tayal
