The Supreme Court has refused to grant relief to Allahabad High Court judge Justice Yashwant Varma, who is facing impeachment proceedings over the alleged recovery of cash from his residence. The apex court dismissed his petition challenging the impeachment process and the formation of the inquiry committee, clearing the way for the proceedings against him to continue.
Justice Varma had challenged the Lok Sabha Speaker’s decision to admit the motion seeking his removal and to constitute an inquiry committee. With the dismissal of his plea, he will now have to face the ongoing impeachment process.
The controversy dates back to March 14, 2025, when a fire broke out at Justice Varma’s official residence in Delhi during his tenure as a judge of the Delhi High Court. Firefighters reportedly discovered bundles of partially burnt currency notes in a storeroom. Justice Varma was not present at home at the time. Following the incident, then Chief Justice of India Sanjiv Khanna constituted a three-member in-house committee to probe the allegations and later advised Justice Varma to resign, which he declined. He was subsequently divested of judicial work and transferred to the Allahabad High Court.
A removal motion was later admitted in the Lok Sabha and an inquiry committee was formed. A similar notice in the Rajya Sabha was rejected by the Deputy Chairman following the resignation of the Vice President.
A bench comprising Justices Dipankar Datta and Satish Chandra Sharma held that there was no violation of the Judges (Inquiry) Act, 1968, and ruled that the Lok Sabha Speaker had the legislative authority to constitute the committee. The court rejected Justice Varma’s arguments, calling them legally untenable.
