SC rejects Justice Varma’s plea, clears path for impeachment panel
SC rejects Justice Varma’s plea, clears path for impeachment panel
SC dismisses Justice Varma’s petition, clearing the way for a three-member Lok Sabha inquiry panel under the Judges (Inquiry) Act to proceed with impeachment proceedings.
The Supreme Court on Thursday dismissed Justice Yashwant Varma's petition challenging the Lok Sabha Speaker's decision to form a three-member inquiry committee under the Judges (Inquiry) Act, 1968, to probe impeachment allegations. The bench held that constitutional safeguards for judges cannot paralyse the removal process and that Varma did not establish a violation of his fundamental rights. The ruling clears the decks for the inquiry panel to proceed with its work, despite questions raised about the unilateral formation of the panel and the status of related parliamentary motions.
Justice Varma, a former Delhi High Court judge, faced an impeachment motion following reports of unaccounted cash at his official residence in Delhi after a fire in March 2025. An in-house inquiry panel previously found his explanations unsatisfactory, prompting action from the Prime Minister and the President. While the Lok Sabha admitted the removal motion on August 12, 2025, the Rajya Sabha deputy chairman declined to admit the motion at that time due to procedural questions.
In upholding the Speaker's authority to constitute the inquiry committee, the court stressed that the safeguard provisions cannot stall accountability mechanisms and that the legal process can continue notwithstanding parliamentary procedural hiccups. The decision effectively allows the three-member panel to advance its inquiry into the allegations against Justice Varma, with the aim of a potential impeachment recommendation if warranted.
