Congress MP Shashi Tharoor made remarks on Tuesday regarding the appointment of a three-person panel to look into the accusations made against Justice Yashwant Varma. According to Tharoor, the committee would consider all available information and adhere to the correct legal procedure before making a decision.
Speaking to reporters, Tharoor said, "The process will have to take its course. There is a certain procedure, and I don't think one has to make any comments now. The decision has been made to constitute an impeachment committee. They'll have to look into all the evidence and come to a conclusion..."
Earlier that day, Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla officially announced the formation of the panel, which was created to probe the allegations against the High Court judge. The committee members are Justice Amit Kumar, Justice Maninder Mohan Srivastava, and BB Acharya. Following Birla's acceptance of an impeachment motion against Justice Varma signed by 146 members of Parliament, the announcement was made.
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This development comes after a string of judge-related incidents. An internal investigation process that had suggested Justice Varma's dismissal was upheld by the Supreme Court on August 7. The judge of the Allahabad High Court was under investigation after burned banknotes were found in his home after a fire.
Justice Varma challenged the report of the in-house inquiry panel and the recommendation of former Chief Justice of India (CJI) Sanjiv Khanna to begin impeachment proceedings against him in a plea that was dismissed by the Supreme Court.
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On March 14, while he was a sitting judge of the Delhi High Court, a fire broke out at his official residence in the nation's capital, resulting in the discovery of the burnt, unaccounted cash. When the fire occurred, Justice Varma wasn't at his house.
The Supreme Court asked Justice Varma a number of questions during a hearing on July 28 in order to hear his plea. Before appearing before the panel, the court asked Senior Advocate Kapil Sibal, who was defending Justice Varma, why his client had not previously contested the constitutionality of the three-judge in-house inquiry process.
In particular, the top court questioned why Justice Varma decided to take part in the investigation if he thought it was unconstitutional and why he was only contesting the procedure now, after the proceedings were over.
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