New Delhi
Union Parliamentary Affairs Minister Kiren Rijiju on Sunday announced that over 100 Members of Parliament have signed a notice seeking the removal of Justice Yashwant Varma. This exceeds the required minimum of 100 MPs from the Lok Sabha to initiate a motion for judicial impeachment.
Speaking after the all-party meeting ahead of the Monsoon Session, Rijiju said, “The signature process has already crossed 100. The Business Advisory Committee will now decide when to schedule the motion.” The motion, likely to be introduced in the Lok Sabha, is expected during the ongoing session beginning Monday, July 21.
The removal move follows a high-profile controversy involving Justice Varma. In March, emergency services responding to a fire at his Delhi residence discovered large amounts of burnt currency in the outhouse. A committee of three High Court judges, appointed by then Chief Justice of India Sanjeev Khanna, later indicted him.
Justice Varma, who was repatriated to the Allahabad High Court and barred from judicial duties, has denied wrongdoing and moved the Supreme Court challenging the inquiry findings. CJI Khanna had recommended Varma’s removal to President Droupadi Murmu and Prime Minister Narendra Modi after he refused to resign.
Rijiju stressed that the impeachment motion has garnered cross-party support. “Corruption in the judiciary strikes at the heart of justice. This is why parties from across the political spectrum are uniting on this matter,” he said.bCongress MP Jairam Ramesh also confirmed that Congress members will be among the signatories to the motion.
