CPI MP writes a letter to all political parties calling for an impeachment against Allahabad HC judge Yashwant Varma
Communist Party of India (CPI) MP P. Sandosh Kumar has written to all political parties seeking their support in bringing an impeachment motion against Allahabad High Court judge Yashwant Varma, who has been indicted by a Supreme Court-appointed probe panel after the discovery of burnt cash at his residence in Delhi.
His letter comes in the backdrop of reports that the government is likely to introduce an impeachment motion in the upcoming monsoon session of Parliament. Mr. Kumar is the second Rajya Sabha member to raise this demand. Last week, Congress MP Vivek Tankha, in a letter to Rajya Sabha Chairman Jagdeep Dhankhar, raised the question that Parliament alone has the power to initiate removal proceedings and yet the inquiry report had not been shared with the 'constitutionally empowered body.'
Former Chief Justice of India Sanjiv Khanna had forwarded a copy of the Supreme Court panel's inquiry report, along with a recommendation to initiate impeachment proceedings against the judge, to President Droupadi Murmu and Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
'If proven true, these allegations are not only a gross betrayal of public trust but also a serious affront to the integrity of our judicial institutions,' Mr. Kumar said in his letter, and urged all political parties to rise above partisanship and take constitutional responsibility to safeguard the credibility of India's judiciary.
Invoking the provisions of Article 124 (establishment of Supreme Court) and Article 218 (provisions concerning removal of judges) of the Constitution to initiate impeachment proceedings, the Mr. Kumar said, 'The legislature cannot be a silent spectator when such grave questions of judicial propriety and public accountability are raised.' He also called for a 'nationwide political dialogue on making the judiciary more accountable, inclusive, and socially representative.' Mr. Kumar added that the judiciary continues to remain opaque in its appointments and largely unrepresentative in terms of caste, gender, and regional diversity.
'Our courts must reflect the plural character of Indian society. Accountability mechanisms for the higher judiciary are long overdue. What we are facing today is not an isolated case of alleged corruption — it is a systemic failure that demands both institutional reform and democratic will,' he stated.
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