A storm of controversy surrounds Allahabad High Court Judge Yashwant Varma as the government prepares to initiate impeachment proceedings following allegations of unaccounted cash found at his Delhi residence.
Home Minister Amit Shah met with Prime Minister Narendra Modi to discuss the matter on Tuesday. Subsequently, Shah, accompanied by Health Minister J.P. Nadda, who also serves as the Leader of the House in the Rajya Sabha, met with Vice-President Jagdeep Dhankhar, signalling that the impeachment motion is likely to be introduced first in the Rajya Sabha.
Govt is using the Justice Yashwant Verma affair to take greater control of judicial appointments. That will be disastrous. The solution of corruption in the judiciary is to have a judicial complaint commission, Indep of the govt& judiciary to investigate complaints against judges pic.twitter.com/oK1vsyrH31
— Prashant Bhushan (@pbhushan1) March 26, 2025
Union Law Minister will move the motion based on the report. Monsoon Session of Parliament is likely to begin in the second week of July.
The controversy erupted on March 14, 2025, when a fire at Justice Varma’s official residence at 30 Tughlak Crescent, New Delhi, led firefighters to discover partially burnt cash, reportedly worth Rs 15 crore in a storeroom.
A Supreme Court-appointed inquiry committee, comprising Justices Sheel Nagu, G.S. Sandhawalia, and Anu Sivaraman, investigated the incident. Their May 3 report concluded that Justice Varma failed to provide a credible explanation for the cash, deeming the misconduct severe enough to warrant impeachment. Varma, denying the allegations, claimed the outhouse was accessible to staff and suggested a conspiracy.
Despite calls to resign, he has stood firm, prompting then-CJI Sanjiv Khanna to recommend impeachment on May 8 by writing to President Droupadi Murmu and PM Modi.
The impeachment process for a high court judge, governed by Article 218 of the Constitution and the Judges (Inquiry) Act, 1968, is a rare and complex procedure. It begins with a motion in Parliament, requiring 100 Lok Sabha or 50 Rajya Sabha MPs to sign.
If admitted by the Speaker or Chairman, a three-member committee, typically including a Supreme Court judge, a High Court Chief Justice, and a jurist—investigates the charges. The committee’s findings, if damning, lead to a parliamentary vote needing a two-thirds majority in both Houses.
If passed, the President issues a removal order.
Justice Varma faces limited options. Resignation remains his most straightforward path, potentially preserving pension benefits and halting proceedings. However, his refusal to step down suggests he may challenge the allegations during the inquiry, where he is entitled to a fair hearing, including presenting evidence and cross-examining witnesses.
A third option awaiting a possible criminal probe is constrained, as the Supreme Court’s 1991 K. Veeraswami ruling bars FIRs against sitting judges without CJI approval, which has not been granted.
The case marks a historic moment, as no high court judge has been impeached in India. Previous attempts, like those against Justices V. Ramaswami and Soumitra Sen, faltered or ended in resignation.
