Parliamentary Affairs Minister Kiren Rijiju on Friday said that all political parties are united on the issue of initiating impeachment proceedings against Justice Yashwant Varma, following the recovery of burnt currency notes from his residence in Delhi earlier this year.
Rijiju stated that he has already consulted senior leaders from various political parties and plans to reach out to MPs from smaller, single-member parties to ensure that no one is left out. "I have spoken to all 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 said.
Clarifying the government's position, Rijiju emphasised that it is not the Union government but Members of Parliament across party lines—including from the principal opposition party, Congress—who are backing the motion to remove Justice Varma. "The judiciary is the institution where people turn for justice. Corruption in the judiciary is a very serious and sensitive matter. That is why the motion for Justice Yashwant Varma's removal is being supported by all political parties," he said.
Rijiju welcomed the Congress party's decision to support the motion, stating, "I am happy that they understood the matter in the right spirit, because no party can be seen as standing with or protecting a corrupt judge." He also underlined the need for national unity in tackling judicial corruption. "When it comes to corruption in the judiciary, we must stand together. This is not a matter for political division or partisan debate," the minister added.
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The Congress, for its part, has officially confirmed that all its Members of Parliament will support the impeachment motion against Justice Varma. Explaining the procedure for removing a judge, Rijiju said that a motion must be signed by at least 100 members of the Lok Sabha or 50 members of the Rajya Sabha. Once submitted, the motion is forwarded to the respective House Chairperson, who will then announce the motion, initiate an inquiry under the Judges Inquiry Act, and appoint a committee to investigate the allegations.
“This committee is required to submit its report within three months,” Rijiju said. “After that, the report will be presented in Parliament, and both Houses will debate the findings.” The controversy surrounding Justice Varma stems from a fire incident in March at his residence in Lutyens’ Delhi—then serving as a judge of the Delhi High Court. The fire led to the discovery of sacks filled with half-burnt cash stored in an outhouse.
Following this incident, Justice Varma was repatriated to the Allahabad High Court, but no judicial responsibilities were assigned to him. Then Chief Justice of India Sanjeev Khanna ordered an in-house inquiry, which has since indicted Justice Varma. Although Justice Varma has denied any involvement in wrongdoing, the internal probe concluded that he and his family had either covert or direct control over the storeroom where the burnt currency was recovered. The panel found this to be serious misconduct and sufficient grounds to seek his removal from judicial office.
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