SC to hear plea by HC judge Varma next week
A Supreme Court bench led by justice Dipankar Datta is set to hear next week justice Yashwant Varma's petition challenging the findings of an in-house inquiry panel that concluded there was 'strong inferential evidence' of his 'covert or active control' over a stash of charred currency recovered from his official residence in Delhi earlier this year.
According to people familiar with the matter, Chief Justice of India Bhushan R Gavai assigned the case to the justice Datta-led bench on Wednesday evening, hours after Varma's legal team sought an urgent listing. The people cited above added that the CJI ordered the matter to be listed 'immediately' and that the petition is expected to come up for a hearing on July 28 or 29.
Earlier on Wednesday morning, senior advocate Kapil Sibal, appearing for justice Varma, mentioned the matter before the CJI and requested an expedited hearing. While agreeing to list the plea, CJI Gavai noted that it would be inappropriate for him to be on the hearing bench given his prior involvement in internal deliberations related to the case.
The development comes even as the central government plans to bring an impeachment motion in Parliament to remove justice Varma from office. As the monsoon session of Parliament is underway and political momentum builds for his removal, 149 Lok Sabha MPs and 63 Rajya Sabha lawmakers submitted separate notices in their respective Houses for impeachment of justice Verma on July 21 – the first day of the current session.
Since then, the resignation of former vice-president Jagdeep Dhankhar has overshadowed the impeachment notices but Parliament is expected to take it up soon.
If the impeachment notices are admitted in a House, the chair or speaker will constitute a three-member panel of jurists to probe the charges. The entire process of impeachment must be completed in the monsoon session that ends on August 21. Justice Varma will get up to three opportunities to defend himself before Parliament.
As reported first by HT, justice Varma moved the apex court on July 17, filing a writ petition challenging the May 3 report by a three-member judicial inquiry panel and the subsequent May 8 recommendation by then CJI Sanjiv Khanna urging Parliament to initiate impeachment proceedings against him. As an interim measure, the petition has also urged the top court to stay the operation of the May 3 report of the in-house inquiry panel as well as the May 8 recommendation of the then CJI to the President and the Prime Minister to initiate proceedings to remove justice Varma from office.
Terming the panel's report 'unsustainable' and the process 'perverse,' the petition alleged grave violations of natural justice and accused the committee of functioning with an 'outcome-driven approach' based on a 'preconceived narrative.' The panel, justice Varma said, failed to investigate foundational facts such as ownership, authenticity, and actual recovery circumstances of the charred cash allegedly found on March 14 at his Delhi residence following a fire.
While acknowledging that some currency may have been recovered from the outhouse, the judge maintained that further inquiry was essential to establish culpability. Instead, the panel concluded its proceedings hastily, the petition claimed, reversing the burden of proof and placing the onus on the judge to disprove misconduct.
The inquiry committee, comprising then high court chief justices Sheel Nagu (Punjab & Haryana), GS Sandhawalia (Himachal Pradesh), and justice Anu Sivaraman (Karnataka high court), was formed on March 22 and submitted its findings to CJI Khanna on May 3.
Justice Varma's petition also challenged the then CJI's May 8 recommendation, arguing that it was based solely on an inquiry report that violated constitutional protections afforded to sitting judges.
The Supreme Court's May 8 press note confirmed that justice Varma had submitted a written response to the inquiry report, reiterating his denial of any wrongdoing and terming the allegations a 'conspiracy.' However, the top court noted that the judge had essentially restated his earlier stand.
During the in-house inquiry, justice Varma was divested of all judicial work and transferred back to his parent high court in Allahabad. He was serving on the bench of the Delhi high court when the March 14 incident took place.
The 64-page inquiry report cited 'strong inferential evidence' to conclude that justice Varma had 'covert or active control' over the charred cash. While admitting that no direct evidence linked him to the currency, the panel held that his conduct 'belied the trust' reposed in a constitutional judge and warranted impeachment proceedings.
'The burden shifted upon justice Varma to account for the money by giving a plausible explanation, which he failed to do, except projecting a flat denial and raising a bald plea of conspiracy,' the report said.
The committee concluded that even if the money had been stored without his explicit knowledge, its presence in his official residence 'eroded public trust' and constituted judicial misconduct of a grave nature.
As first reported by HT on June 18, justice Varma had earlier rejected CJI Khanna's suggestion to resign or opt for voluntary retirement. In a detailed letter dated May 6, the judge accused the panel of procedural violations and asked the then CJI to reconsider both the process and the outcome.
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