Centre to collect signatures of MPs for motion to remove Justice Varma

Prominent opposition parties have given their in-principle approval to support the motion to remove Allahabad High Court judge Yashwant Varma and the process of collecting signatures could begin soon, Union minister Kiren Rijiju said on Thursday.

He said the government is yet to decide whether the motion would be brought in the Lok Sabha or Rajya Sabha.

For Lok Sabha, signatures of a minimum 100 MPs is required. For the Rajya Sabha, the requirement is the support of at least 50 MPs.

He said the signatures will be collected after the government decides on the House where the motion will be brought.

The Monsoon session will commence from July 21 and end on August 21.

According to the Judges (Inquiry) Act of 1968, once a motion to remove a judge is admitted in any of the houses, the speaker or the chairman, as the case may be, will constitute a three-member committee to investigate the grounds on which the removal (or, in popular term, impeachment) has been sought.

The committee consists of the Chief Justice of India (CJI) or a Supreme Court judge, the chief justice of one of the 25 high courts and a "distinguished jurist." 

  Rijiju said since the matter involves corruption in the judiciary, the government wants all political parties to be on board.

On being asked about the report of the in-committee which proved the cash discovery incident at Justice Varma's official residence here, he said the report of the three-judge panel had not indicted Justice Varma and was meant to recommend future course of action as Parliament can only remove a judge  A fire incident at Justice Varma's residence in the national capital in March, when he was a judge at the Delhi High Court, had led to the discovery of several burnt sacks of banknotes in the outhouse.

Though the judge claimed ignorance about the cash, the Supreme Court-appointed committee indicted him after speaking to a number of witnesses and recording his statement.

Then-CJI Sanjiv Khanna is believed to have prodded him to resign but Justice Varma dug in his heels.

The apex court has since repatriated him to his parent court, the Allahabad High Court, where he has not been assigned any judicial work.

Justice Khanna had written to the president and the prime minister, recommending the removal, which is the procedure for axing members of the higher judiciary from service.