Supreme Court Reserves Order on Justice Varma's Removal from Lok Sabha

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The Supreme Court has reserved its decision on a petition filed by Allahabad High Court Justice Yashwant Varma, challenging the removal proceedings initiated against him by the Lok Sabha. The top court must balance the rights of the judge with the will of the people represented by Parliament members who moved the motion. A three-member inquiry committee formed by the Lok Sabha Speaker has asked Justice Varma to respond to charges against him by January 12. His lawyers sought an extension of time, but the court refused to intervene. The controversy began when unaccounted cash was discovered at Justice Varma's Delhi residence while he was a Delhi High Court judge. Separate motions for his removal were filed in both the Lok Sabha and the Rajya Sabha on July 21. However, on August 12, the Lok Sabha Speaker admitted the motion and formed the inquiry committee under the Judges (Inquiry) Act, 1968. Justice Varma claims that the Speaker and the Rajya Sabha Chairman failed to constitute a joint committee as required by law. A battery of senior lawyers, including Mukul Rohatgi, argued that the decision to admit or reject a motion lies with the Chairman, and in his absence, the Deputy Chairman's order was invalid. The court observed that the Deputy Chairman's actions should not bring the entire process to a halt. Solicitor General Tushar Mehta, representing both Houses of Parliament, cautioned that court interference would truncate the process and force it to begin anew. The controversy surrounds Justice Varma's discovery of unaccounted cash at his residence in 2023, and subsequent motions for his removal from the Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha. The Supreme Court's decision will determine the fate of Justice Varma's tenure as a judge.