Law Notify : The Central government has appointed Additional Solicitor General of India Raja Thakare to assist the three-member Inquiry Committee examining the impeachment proceedings initiated against Justice Yashwant Varma of the Allahabad High Court.
According to a notification issued by the Ministry of Law and Justice on Friday, ASG Thakare will assist the Committee in investigating the allegations forming the basis of the impeachment motion. The Inquiry Committee has been constituted under the Judges (Inquiry) Act, 1968, read with Articles 124(4) and 217(1)(b) of the Constitution of India.
The Committee comprises Justice Arvind Kumar of the Supreme Court, Justice M.M. Shrivastava, Chief Justice of the Madras High Court, and senior advocate Vasudeva Acharya of the Karnataka High Court. Its mandate is to inquire into the charges and record findings relevant to the proposed removal of Justice Varma.
The proceedings stem from a controversy triggered by the accidental discovery of unaccounted cash at Justice Varma’s official residence following a fire incident. In response, the then Chief Justice of India invoked the in-house procedure evolved by the Supreme Court of India to deal with allegations of judicial misconduct. A prima facie assessment found sufficient grounds for further action, after which Justice Varma was given the option to resign or seek voluntary retirement.
After he declined, impeachment motions were introduced in both Houses of Parliament. During this period, Justice Varma approached the Supreme Court multiple times. In his first petition, he challenged the validity of the in-house procedure and the recommendation of the Chief Justice of India, arguing that it caused institutional prejudice and violated his right to a fair process. The Supreme Court refused to interfere, noting that having participated in the process, he could not later challenge it merely because the outcome was adverse.
Justice Varma subsequently questioned the constitution of the Inquiry Committee by the Speaker of the Lok Sabha, contending that the Judges (Inquiry) Act, 1968 requires joint action by the Speaker of the Lok Sabha and the Chairman of the Rajya Sabha when motions are moved in both Houses. This challenge was also rejected.
A Bench comprising Justice Dipankar Datta and Justice Satish Chandra Sharma held that while the impeachment motion had been admitted in the Lok Sabha, no such admission had occurred in the Rajya Sabha. The Court clarified that the 1968 Act cannot be interpreted in a manner that renders an admitted motion in one House ineffective, as doing so would undermine the constitutional and statutory framework governing judicial accountability.
