Latest news with #Varma
Time of India
17 hours ago
- Politics
- Time of India
Rain on KP mind as cops ready 9-11 plans after HC order
Kolkata: With rain on mind, which can slow down traffic on July 21, Kolkata Police will deploy 5,500 cops at the city centre, and thousands more will be posted from the city's fringes to the Maidan for smooth commuting, officers said. On Saturday, Kolkata Police commissioner Manoj Varma toured Kolkata with stopovers at traffic guards on fringes like Thakurpukur and Garia Dhalai Bridge before coming back to the city centre to review traffic preparations. This was in tune with the Calcutta High Court order on Friday that directed Kolkata Police to ensure that no procession for the July 21 rally takes place between 9 am and 11 am. The order further asked cops to ensure there is no traffic congestion on routes leading to the high court and other offices within a five-kilometre radius in central Kolkata. "We have had specific discussions and have passed instructions to my teams. We are taking all adequate measures to ensure the stipulations mentioned by the Honourable HC are maintained. We will ensure that the rally is conducted smoothly without hampering traffic movement and complying with the court order," said Varma. "We also urge commuters to call us on our helplines in case of any trouble." You Can Also Check: Kolkata AQI | Weather in Kolkata | Bank Holidays in Kolkata | Public Holidays in Kolkata The top cop left his home around 11 am, travelled from Park Circus via the Maa Flyover to Science City. by Taboola by Taboola Sponsored Links Sponsored Links Promoted Links Promoted Links You May Like Paras Sector 59 Gurgaon | Luxury Awaits at Paras Floret Paras The Florett Book Now Undo He then held a brief meeting at Patuli and inspected the area from Dhalai Bridge and drove to Behala Joka, where he interacted with officers of Thakurpukur Traffic Guard. Incidentally, these are the two points from where majority of vehicles carrying supporters from South 24 Parganas arrive. Varma then visited the Hastings area before visiting the Esplanade rally venue. He then headed towards Bhabani Bhawan. Varma added he also had discussions with his counterparts in Baruipur, Diamond Harbour, Bidhannagar, Barrackpore, and Howrah about traffic management from the bordering areas. Sources said the cops plan to halt traffic coming from the city fringes at these bordering areas and wouldn't allow large vehicles carrying supporters to enter the city before 11 am to mitigate the traffic chaos. According to an estimate, several lakhs of people are likely to arrive in Kolkata on Monday in buses and trains from every subdivision block and panchayat area. While the party arranged for accommodation and meals for workers at four different places since Friday, a large chunk of party supporters arrive from the city and its neighbouring districts on the day of the rally, choking city traffic. At Esplanade, final preparations were on, with senior KP officers, including Varma, inspecting the venue. Sniffer dogs and cops from the bomb squad also inspected the stage and the surroundings every few hours. "Rain is our biggest challenge. We are equipped to manage traffic congestion due to the rallyists, but if it rains heavily, our plans will take a hit," said a senior officer.
Scroll.in
a day ago
- Politics
- Scroll.in
Justice Varma impeachment a matter for Parliament, Centre ‘not in the picture': Law minister
Union Law Minister Arjun Ram Meghwal on Friday said that the motion to impeach Allahabad High Court judge Yashwant Varma over the unaccounted cash row is a matter for Parliament to deal with and that the Centre was 'not in the picture', PTI reported. 'The Constitution allows Parliament to bring a motion for removal, 100 or more MPs must sign in the Lok Sabha, and 50 or more in the Rajya Sabha,' he told the news agency. 'So, this is entirely a matter for the MPs, not the government.' The remark came a day after Varma moved the Supreme Court challenging the in-house inquiry committee's report that indicted him in the matter. The committee had reached conclusions without giving him an opportunity to respond, Varma argued. On Friday, Meghwal also highlighted that the in-house committee, set up by Sanjiv Khanna, the chief justice of India at the time, to investigate the matter, had already submitted its findings. The law minister said that while it was Varma's right to challenge the report in court, the power to remove a High Court or Supreme Court judge lies solely with Parliament, PTI reported. VIDEO | Cash discovery row: On the opposition raising the issue that the government is planning to bring an impeachment motion against Justice Yashwant Varma, and Justice Yashwant Varma challenging the move in the Supreme Court, Union Minister Arjun Ram Meghwal (@arjunrammeghwal)… — Press Trust of India (@PTI_News) July 18, 2025 On Thursday, Varma also sought to quash the May 8 recommendation by Khanna calling for his removal. The developments came ahead of the Monsoon Session of Parliament, which will begin on Monday. The impeachment motion against Varma could be introduced during the session, according to reports. All parties united on impeachment motion: Rijiju Parliamentary Affairs Minister Kiren Rijiju on Friday said that all political parties, including Opposition Congress, are in agreement on the impeachment motion against Varma, PTI reported. Rijiju told the new agency that he had spoken to leaders of political party and will also reach out to MPs from smaller parties. 'I don't want to leave out any member,' he said. 'This must be a unified stand of the Parliament of India.' Rijiju said that the motion to impeach Varma was not driven by the government, but based on consensus among MPs from all political backgrounds, PTI reported. 'Corruption in the judiciary is extremely sensitive and a serious matter because the judiciary is where people get justice,' he said, adding that 'no party can be seen standing with a corrupt judge or protecting a corrupt judge'. The Congress has confirmed that its MPs will back the impeachment motion, PTI reported. Allegedly unaccounted cash was recovered at Varma's official residence in Delhi when emergency services responded to a fire there on March 14. He was a judge at the Delhi High Court at that time. The judge said he was in Bhopal when the cash was discovered and claimed that it did not belong to him or his family. Amid the row, he was transferred to the Allahabad High Court. On March 22, the Supreme Court released a report, including a video and three photographs, showing bundles of notes that were allegedly recovered from the judge's home. The court had also set up a three-member committee to look into the allegations against Varma. The redacted report showed that Delhi High Court Chief Justice Devendra Kumar Upadhyaya had written to Varma on March 21, asking him to 'account for the presence of money/cash' in a room located in his bungalow. After Varma declined to voluntarily retire or resign, Khanna sent the final inquiry committee report on the incident to the president and the prime minister. The committee in its report had concluded that there was 'sufficient substance' in the charges against Varma. The report, dated May 3, held that the judge's misconduct was 'serious enough to call for initiation of proceedings for removal'. However, the report did not address questions about how the fire started, how much money was found, where the cash came from or where it is now. Under the Judges Inquiry Act, impeaching a judge requires a motion signed by 100 Lok Sabha MPs or 50 Rajya Sabha MPs. If the motion is admitted, a three-member judicial committee investigates the matter. The Parliament votes on the impeachment if the committee finds misconduct. If the motion gets two-thirds of the votes, the president is advised to remove the judge.
Time of India
a day ago
- Politics
- Time of India
Varma moves SC for quashing of inquiry report, questions in-house procedure validity
NEW DELHI: Ahead of a possible removal motion in Parliament's monsoon session, Justice Yashwant Varma moved Supreme Court for quashing of an in-house inquiry report holding him guilty for the huge illicit cash at his official residence in Delhi and challenged the constitutionality of then CJI Sanjiv Khanna's recommendation to the Centre to strip him of HC judgeship. Tired of too many ads? go ad free now Justice Varma, whose defence team is led by senior advocates including Kapil Sibal, filed the petition faulting the process adopted by the three-member panel to inquire into the cash allegedly found at his bungalow, terming the panel's conclusions about his guilt as mere surmises without evidence. Varma questions validity of in-house procedure that allows CJI to recommend removal of judge Interestingly, the day saw a PIL being filed in the SC by advocate Mathews Nedumpara seeking registration of an FIR for the unaccounted cash that was discovered within the premises of the judge's official residence by first responders who reached after a fire on the night of March 14. Many former judges of Delhi HC shared the view of the PIL petitioner and said only a thorough investigation by a probe agency could unravel the money trail. In the writ petition filed through advocate Vaibhav Niti, Justice Varma asked why Delhi Police and Delhi Fire Service personnel, who discovered the cash, did not seize it or prepare a 'panchnama', which alone could have been admissible evidence. He accused then CJI Khanna of subjecting him to a media trial by uploading unsubstantiated material against him on the SC's official website. Repatriated to Allahabad HC during the inquiry, the judge said the panel's report was handed over to him on May 4 and the then CJI 'advised him to resign or seek voluntary retirement by 7pm on May 6, failing which the CJI would 'intimate competent authority to initiate action for his removal''. The judge, who had been barred from judicial work, said he was denied a personal hearing he had sought, as per the in-house procedure, before the CJI and senior SC judges, prior to the CJI sending the recommendation to the President and the PM on May 8, just five days before CJI Khanna retired. Tired of too many ads? go ad free now He requested that SC declare the CJI's recommendation unconstitutional and ultra vires. He also questioned the constitutional validity of the in-house procedure that empowered the CJI to recommend removal of a constitutional court judge. This in-house process 'creates a parallel, extra-constitutional mechanism that derogates from the mandatory framework under Articles 124 and 218 of the Constitution, which exclusively vest powers for removal of judges of high courts in Parliament through an address supported by a special majority, following an inquiry under the Judges (Inquiry) Act, 1968', he said. Justice Varma said power to remove constitutional court judges was given to Parliament by the Constitution after conducting a thorough trial of the charges against a judge with in-built safeguards including framing of charges, cross-examination, and proof beyond reasonable doubt for 'proven misbehaviour'. Thus, the in-house procedure, as far as it usurps parliamentary procedure to recommend removal of judges, violates the doctrine of separation of powers. Judiciary cannot assume the role reserved for the legislature in the removal of judges, Justice Varma said. He said the Constitution conferred no disciplinary or superintendence power with the CJI over HC or SC judges. Thus, the CJI cannot assume, through in-house procedure, an unregulated authority to act as the arbiter of the fate of HC and SC judges, he said. Justice Varma's challenge mirrors the line Sibal took on his YouTube show last week to dissect the inquiry report with panellists: former SC judges Justices Madan Lokur and Sanjay Kaul and ex-Delhi HC judge Justice Mukta Gupta. In the show, Sibal argued that the in-house inquiry was not consistent with constitutional provisions. Cong MPs to sign motion in LS against Justice Varma Congress MPs will sign the motion that govt will bring in Lok Sabha against Justice Yashwant Varma, with the party saying it will be done to set up a 3-member statutory panel which is required under Judges Inquiry Act before a judge's removal. Party general secretary Jairam Ramesh said opposition will also push govt to move on the motion to remove against Allahabad HC judge Shekhar Yadav, who is accused of making 'hate speech'. Ramesh slammed non-registration of an FIR against Varma, saying the entire process has been based on a report of the in-house panel of SC. He said Justice Yadav violated his oath with his speech but the notice to remove him is pending with Rajya Sabha chairman for past seven months.
Time of India
2 days ago
- Politics
- Time of India
All parties on board on Justice Varma's removal; corruption in judiciary serious matter: Kiren Rijiju
Live Events (You can now subscribe to our (You can now subscribe to our Economic Times WhatsApp channel Parliamentary Affairs Minister Kiren Rijiju said on Friday that all political parties are on board on the issue of the impeachment of Justice Yashwant Varma , from whose residence burnt wads of currency notes were found."I have spoken to all the senior leaders of different political parties. I will also get in touch with some of the single-MP parties because I do not want to leave out any member. So it becomes a unified stand of the Parliament of India," Rijiju said in an exclusive video interview with minister asserted that it is not the government but members of Parliament cutting across party lines, including from the Congress, who are in favour of moving a motion to remove Justice Varma "Corruption in the judiciary is an extremely sensitive and serious matter, because the judiciary is where people get justice. If there is corruption in the judiciary, it is a serious concern for everybody. That is why the motion for the removal of Justice Yashwant Varma is to be signed by all the political parties," he said he is happy that the principal opposition party, Congress, has understood the severity of the matter and agreed to be on board on the issue."I am happy that they understood the things as they should be because no party can be seen to be standing with a corrupt judge or protecting a corrupt judge," he said."When it comes to corruption in the judiciary, we have to stand together. There cannot be any partisan attitude and it should not be made a political issue," Rijiju Congress has said all its MPs will support the motion against Justice said a motion for the removal of a judge has to be signed by not less than 100 MPs in the Lok Sabha and 50 in the Rajya petition has to be submitted to the chair, who will inform the House, constitute an inquiry in accordance with the Judges Inquiry Act and get a report in three months."So the three-month-period requirement will have to be fulfilled. And after that the inquiry report will be tabled in Parliament and a discussion held in both Houses," Rijiju said.A fire incident at Justice Varma's Lutyens' Delhi residence in March, when he was a judge of the Delhi High Court, had led to the discovery of sacks of half-burnt cash in the Varma was subsequently repatriated to the Allahabad High Court but no judicial work was assigned to him. An in-house probe ordered by then chief justice of India Sanjeev Khanna has indicted Justice Varma has denied any wrongdoing, the inquiry panel has concluded that the judge and his family members had covert or active control over the storeroom, where the cash was found, proving his misconduct serious enough to seek his former law minister Kapil Sibal's remarks drawing a parallel between Justice Varma and Justice Shekhar Yadav of the Allahabad High Court over the latter's "controversial" statement, Rijiju said Parliament cannot be guided by "one lawyer-MP's personal agenda".Noting that Sibal is a senior person, the minister alleged that he is only driven by his "personal agenda"."We will not be driven by one lawyer-MP's agenda. We are not here to set an agenda or drive an agenda. We are working purely in the interest of the country," he said Sibal does not realise that many MPs have gone far beyond him in terms of understanding, intellectual capability and the knowledge of law."He is a very average lawyer.... He cannot guide the Parliament of India. The Parliament of India will be guided by all the members of Parliament," he said.
India Today
2 days ago
- Politics
- India Today
All parties backing Justice Varma's removal over cash row: Kiren Rijiju
Parliamentary Affairs Minister Kiren Rijiju on Friday said that all political parties are on board with the move to impeach Justice Yashwant Varma, after burnt currency notes were found at the judge's residence, as reported by news agency an interview with PTI, Rijiju said, 'I have spoken to all the senior leaders of different political parties. I will also get in touch with some of the single-MP parties because I do not want to leave out any member. So it becomes a unified stand of the Parliament of India.'advertisementHe clarified that the initiative is not government-driven but comes from Members of Parliament across party lines, including from the Congress, who support the motion to remove Justice Varma. 'Corruption in the judiciary is an extremely sensitive and serious matter, because the judiciary is where people get justice. If there is corruption in the judiciary, it is a serious concern for everybody. That is why the motion for the removal of Justice Yashwant Varma is to be signed by all the political parties,' Rijiju minister welcomed the support of the Congress, saying, 'I am happy that they understood things as they should be, because no party can be seen to be standing with a corrupt judge or protecting a corrupt judge.'He stressed the need for unity on the issue, saying, 'When it comes to corruption in the judiciary, we have to stand together. There cannot be any partisan attitude and it should not be made a political issue.'The Congress also confirmed that all its MPs will support the motion against Justice to Rijiju, a motion for a judge's removal requires signatures from at least 100 MPs in the Lok Sabha and 50 in the Rajya Sabha. The petition is then submitted to the chair, who will inform the House and initiate an enquiry under the Judges Inquiry process includes a three-month-long investigation, followed by a discussion in both Houses of Parliament based on the enquiry move to impeach Justice Varma follows a fire incident in March at his Lutyens' Delhi residence, which led to the discovery of sacks containing half-burnt cash in the outhouse. At the time, he served as a judge in the Delhi High Varma was later repatriated to the Allahabad High Court, but no judicial work was assigned to him. An in-house inquiry ordered by then Chief Justice of India Sanjeev Khanna found that the judge and his family had covert or active control over the storeroom where the money was found. The panel concluded the misconduct was serious enough to warrant his Justice Varma denied any wrongdoing, the findings of the inquiry proved to former law minister Kapil Sibal's remarks comparing Justice Varma to Justice Shekhar Yadav of the Allahabad High Court—who recently made a controversial statement-Rijiju dismissed the criticism.'We will not be driven by one lawyer-MP's agenda. We are not here to set an agenda or drive an agenda. We are working purely in the interest of the country,' he Sibal 'a very average lawyer,' Rijiju added, 'He cannot guide the Parliament of India. The Parliament of India will be guided by all the members of Parliament.'He further said, 'Sibal does not realise that many MPs have gone far beyond him in terms of understanding, intellectual capability and knowledge of law.'- EndsMust Watch IN THIS STORY#Justice Yashwant Verma
