New Delhi: The government is preparing to table an impeachment motion in Parliament against Justice Yashwant Varma after the latter was indicted by the Supreme Court’s three-member judicial panel in the cash row case.
Parliamentary Affairs Minister Kiren Rijiju has reportedly started discussions with the opposition party members before initiating the impeachment motion against Justice Varma.
A huge sum of burnt cash was found at his residence in New Delhi after a fire incident in March. Subsequently, a judicial committee was formed by then Chief Justice of India Sanjiv Khanna to probe the matter. Meanwhile, Varma was transferred to Allahabad High Court from Delhi High Court.
After Justice Varma refused to resign despite the judicial panel’s report indicting him, then, CJI Khanna wrote to both the President and the Prime Minister recommending an impeachment process against him.
What is the impeachment process?
As the government is set to bring an impeachment motion against Justice Varma, the procedure for removal of a sitting judge of the Supreme Court or High Court, is laid out in the Judges (Inquiry) Act, 1968.
An impeachment motion is required to have a specific criteria drafted under the act, and can be brought in any House of Parliament.
To float the impeachment motion, in Lok Sabha – Lower House of the Parliament – signatures of 100 members are required, while 50 signatories are needed from the Rajya Sabha or the Upper House.
After the admission of the impeachment motion, a three-member committee is constituted to investigate the member. As per the Section 3 (2) of the Judges Act, one member of the committee is supposed to be from “among the Chief Justice and other Judges of the Supreme Court,”, one from among the Chief Justices of the High Courts, and the third member – a “distinguished jurist” – will be selected by the Speaker of the House as the Chairman of the panel.
Read more: Justice Yashwant Varma urged to resign after panel finds credence in cash-at-home allegation
The Committee will then frame definite charges against the Judge to lay down the basis of the investigation. Such charges will be communicated to the concerned Judge and will be given a “reasonable opportunity of presenting a written statement of defence” within a stipulated time period set by the committee.
After the probe, if the committee finds “any misbehaviour”, the impeachment motion will be considered and voted by the members of the Parliament. The motion will adopted only if two-thirds majority of both Houses votes in favour of the motion.
In the same session, the motion will be presented to the President for final approval and assent on the removal of the judge from his duties, for which only the President will pass the final order.
A criminal prosecution can later be filed against the judge after removing him from his duties and capacity.
