Judge In Cash Row To Face Impeachment Motion In Next House Session: Sources

The Central government is preparing to initiate impeachment proceedings against sitting High Court judge, Justice Yashwant Varma, facing allegations of corruption after the discovery of a large amount of cash from his official residence in Delhi, say top government sources.

The impeachment of a sitting judge is among the rarest and most sensitive procedures in India's constitutional framework.

A motion seeking his removal, say sources, will be brought in the upcoming session of Parliament.

Minister of Parliamentary Affairs Kiren Rijiju will lead consultations with all political parties ahead of tabling the motion.

Sources say cross-party consensus would be crucial, given the constitutional threshold required for the removal (impeachment) of a judge.

A series of meetings took place today, possibly to chalk out the strategy for the impeachment motion.

First, the Law Minister Arjun Ram Meghwal met Home Minister Amit Shah. A little later, Mr Shah went to meet Prime Minister Narendra Modi. 

Shortly after, the leader of the Rajya Sabha JP Nadda met Mr Shah, then the two leaders met chairman of the Rajya Sabha Jagdeep Dhankhar. 

Then Delhi High Court judge, Justice Varma, is at the centre of a controversy after a large quantity of unaccounted cash was allegedly 'recovered' from his residence after a fire at his 30 Tughlak Crescent residence in Delhi.

The then Chief Justice of India Sanjiv Khanna had ordered Justice Varma's immediate transfer to the Allahabad High Court, his parent court.

Justice Varma was not at home when the fire broke out at his official bungalow. His family members called in firefighters and the police to control the blaze. After the fire was doused, officials reportedly discovered a massive stack of cash in one of the rooms.

A three-member inquiry committee, constituted under the in-house mechanism for judicial accountability by then CJI Justice Khanna, found the allegations serious enough to merit removal proceedings against Justice Varma.

As per protocol, then CJI Khanna had formally forwarded the committee's report to the President and the Prime Minister, signalling that the judge had refused to resign voluntarily.

Under the in-house guidelines, this step is taken only when the inquiry finds credible evidence that warrants impeachment.

Only a handful of judges have ever faced removal proceedings in the country's history - most have resigned before the motion could be carried to conclusion.