Monsoon session: Speaker forms panel to inquire into grounds for Justice Varma's removal
The committee comprises SC judge Justice Arvind Kumar; Madras HC CJ Manindra Mohan Srivastava; and senior advocate at Karnataka HC B V Acharya.
The Speaker, however, did not specify a timeline for the committee to submit its report, limiting himself to saying that it would submit its report "at the earliest" and the motion (for removal) will remain pending until the report is received.
Birla had received the notice of motion for removal of Justice Varma, signed by 146 LS members from both governing and opposition parties, on July 21.
The signatories include BJP member Ravi Shankar Prasad and leader of opposition in the House Rahul Gandhi. In their notice, the MPs pointed to the adverse findings of CJ of Delhi HC D K Upadhyay and former CJI Sanjiv Khanna about recovery of cash and the attempts to erase evidence.
Referring to the motion that proposes to present the matter to the President for the removal of Justice Varma, Birla read out its content that said an "unblemished character and financial/intellectual integrity are foundation of trust placed by the common man in judiciary".
The motion shared the facts of the case that came out after independent probe of the circumstances related to recovery and removal of burnt cash from the official premises under possession of Justice Varma.
It said the facts related to the case, which point towards corruption, merit proceedings and processes under Article 124 (read with Articles 217 and 218) of the Constitution of India. "Parliament must speak in one voice on this matter and send a clear message about its resolve for zero tolerance towards corruption in public life," it said.
Birla said finding the motion in order, he accepted it and constituted the committee in accordance with sub-section 2 of Section 3 of Judges (Inquiry) Act, 1968.
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