From burnt cash to possibly the first impeachment of a judge: The Yashwant Varma saga explained

Yashwa t
Va ma
is
likely
to
impeachme t
p oceedi gs
afte
a
Pa liame ta y
pa el
fou d
all
cha ges
agai st
him
p oved.

NEW
DELHI:
It
bega
with
a
fi e.O
the
i te ve i g
ight
of
Ma ch
14-15,
2025,
fi efighte s
espo di g
to
a
blaze
at
the
official
eside ce
of
Delhi
high
cou t
judge
Yashwa t
Va ma
stumbled
upo
somethi g
fa
mo e
co seque tial
tha
the
fi e
itself:
a
la ge
qua tity
of
bu t
cu e cy
otes
i
a
sto e oom.What
followed
tu ed
i to
a
ext ao di a y
judicial
a d
political
saga:
a
i -house
i qui y,
Va ma’s
t a sfe
to
the
Allahabad
high
cou t,
a
Pa liame ta y
emoval
motio ,
his
decisio
to
withd aw
f om
the
i qui y
a d,
eve tually,
his
esig atio
as
a
judge.Now,
almost
18
mo ths
afte
that
ight,
a
Pa liame ta y
i qui y
committee
has
fou d
the
cha ges
agai st
Va ma
p oved,
pavi g
the
way
fo
the
Ce t e
to
pu sue
his
impeachme t
eve
though
he
has
al eady
esig ed.The
case
aises
a
questio
that
goes
beyo d
what
happe ed
i
that
sto e oom:
Why
is
Pa liame t
still
pu sui g
the
emoval
of
a
judge
who
is
o
lo ge
i
office,
a d
what
would
his
impeachme t
mea
fo
the
judicia y?To
u de sta d
that,
it
is
wo th
goi g
back
to
the
ight
whe
the
fi e
b ought
the
cash
to
light.

The
ight
the
cash
was
fou d

A
fi e
was
epo ted
at
Justice
Va ma’s
eside ce
i
the
ea ly
hou s
of
Ma ch
15,
2025.
Fi efighte s
we e
called
to
douse
the
blaze.

Afte
the
fi e
was
b ought
u de
co t ol,
fi st
espo de s
fou d
a
la ge
qua tity
of
cash
i side
a
sto e oom.
The
discove y
led
to
official
e t ies
docume ti g
the
ecove y
of
what
appea ed
to
be
u accou ted
mo ey.

The
ews
of
the
i cide t
quickly
eached
the
Chief
Justice
of
I dia
Sa jiv
Kha a.
He
called
a
immediate
meeti g
of
the
collegium,
which
u a imously
decided
to
t a sfe
Va ma
to
his
pa e t
high
cou t,
the
Allahabad
high
cou t.

I -house
p obe

Kha a
also
co stituted
a
th ee-membe
i -house
committee
to
exami e
the
allegatio s.It
comp ised
Pu jab
a d
Ha ya a
high
cou t
Chief
Justice
Sheel
Nagu,
Himachal
P adesh
high
cou t
Chief
Justice
G
S
Sa dhawalia
a d
Ka ataka
high
cou t
Justice
A u
Siva ama .The
committee’s
volumi ous
epo t
co cluded
that
the
sto e oom
was
u de
the
co t ol
of
Va ma
a d
his
family
a d
ecomme ded
steps
fo
his
emoval.Va ma
de ied
the
allegatio s
a d
mai tai ed
that
he
had
bee
f amed.“I
state
u equivocally
that
o
cash
was
eve
placed
i
that
sto e oom
eithe
by
me
o
a y
of
my
family
membe s
a d
st o gly
de ou ce
the
suggestio
that
the
alleged
cash
belo ged
to
us.
The
ve y
idea
o
suggestio
that
this
cash
was
kept
o
sto ed
by
us
is
totally
p eposte ous,”
he
said
i
his
espo se.

How
did
Pa liame t
get
i volved?

The
matte
did
ot
e d
with
the
i -house
i qui y.Afte
the
i -house
committee
ecomme ded
Va ma’s
emoval,
Pa liame t
stepped
i .Lok
Sabha
Speake
Om
Bi la
eceived
a
motio
sig ed
by
146
membe s
of
the
Lowe
House
f om
both
the
gove i g
a d
oppositio
pa ties
seeki g
Va ma’s
emoval.Acti g
o
the
otice,
Bi la
co stituted
a
th ee-membe
committee
to
i qui e
i to
the
“g ou ds
fo
equest
fo
emoval”
u de
the
Judges
(I qui y)
Act,
1968.Sup eme
Cou t
judge
Justice
A avi d
Kuma
chai ed
the
committee.
Its
o igi al
membe s
we e
Mad as
high
cou t
Chief
Justice
Ma i d a
Moha
Sh ivastava
a d
se io
advocate
BV
Acha ya.Sh ivastava
was
late
eplaced
by
Bombay
high
cou t
Chief
Justice
Sh ee
Cha d ashekha
ahead
of
his
eti eme t.The
i qui y
the
became
a
full-fledged
legal
battle.

Va ma
fights
the
i qui y

Va ma
did
ot
simply
accept
the
p oceedi gs.Th ough
a
team
of
se io
lawye s,
he
filed
11
i te im
applicatio s,
exami ed
the
eco ds
a d
c oss-exami ed
wit esses
p oduced
befo e
the
committee.The
p ese ti g
side
co cluded
its
evide ce
o
Ma ch
17.
The
committee
the
asked
Va ma
to
fu ish
a
list
of
his
defe ce
wit esses
a d
thei
affidavits.He
sought
additio al
time
a d
was
g a ted
a
exte sio .
But
the
deadli e
passed
without
him
submitti g
eithe
the
list
o
the
affidavits.

O
Ap il
9,
Va ma
i fo med
the
committee
that
he
would
o
lo ge
pa ticipate
i
the
p oceedi gs.I
his
commu icatio ,
he
questio ed
the
fai ess
of
the
i qui y
o
seve al
g ou ds.
He
objected
to
the
use
of
mate ial
f om
the
ea lie
i -house
i qui y,
a gued
that
the
bu de
of
p oof
had
effectively
bee
shifted
o to
him
a d
alleged
that
c ucial
wit esses
had
ot
bee
exami ed.He
also
aised
the
issue
of
missi g
CCTV
footage,
a gui g
that
it
could
have
helped
settle
key
questio s
su ou di g
the
case.A
day
late ,
o
Ap il
10,
Va ma
esig ed
as
a
judge
of
the
Allahabad
high
cou t.I
his
esig atio
lette
to
the
P eside t,
he
did
ot
spell
out
the
easo s
fo
his
decisio ,
sayi g
he
did
ot
wish
to
bu de
the
“august
office”
with
them.“It
is
with
deep
a guish
that
I
te de
my
esig atio
as
Judge
of
Allahabad
HC
with
immediate
effect,”
Va ma
w ote.But
his
esig atio
did
ot
ecessa ily
b i g
the
matte
to
a
e d.

What
did
the
Pa liame ta y
i qui y
fi d?

Almost
18
mo ths
afte
the
cash
was
discove ed,
a
Pa liame ta y
i qui y
committee
tabled
its
epo t
i
the
House
o
August
12
a d
fou d
all
cha ges
agai st
Va ma
p oved.The
committee
fou d
that
Va ma
possessed
a
substa tial
qua tity
of
cu e cy
otes
i
the
sto e oom
of
his
official
eside ce
at
30,
Tughlaq
C esce t.
It
accepted
videos
showi g
cha ed
otes
as
well
as
the
testimo ies
of
seve al
Delhi
Fi e
Se vices
a d
police
officials.

The
pa el
also
fou d
Va ma
guilty
of
tampe i g
with
the
sce e
of
the
i cide t.
Acco di g
to
the
epo t,
the
sto e oom
was
clea ed
by
his
household
staff,
afte
which
the
otes
we e
o
lo ge
available.It
fu the
desc ibed
Va ma’s
expla atio
fo
the
discove y
of
the
u accou ted
cash
as
“evasive”
a d
“u satisfacto y”,
ejecti g
his
claim
that
the
cu e cy
otes
had
bee
pla ted.The
fi di gs
have
ow
b ought
the
case
to
a othe
c ucial
stage:
the
impeachme t
p ocess.

Why
does
Pa liame t
still
wa t
to
pu sue
impeachme t?

This
is
whe e
the
Va ma
case
becomes
co stitutio ally
u usual.The
Ce t e
is
likely
to
i itiate
the
impeachme t
p ocess
i
the
Wi te
Sessio
of
Pa liame t,
eve
though
Va ma
has
al eady
esig ed.Acco di g
to
a
PTI
epo t
citi g
sou ces,
his
esig atio
does
ot
affect
the
p oceedi gs
because
it
was
submitted
o ly
afte
the
emoval
p ocess
had
begu
i
Pa liame t.The
gove me t’s
epo ted
easo i g
goes
beyo d
Va ma
himself.
It
wa ts
to
establish
a
p ecede t
a d
se d
a
message
that
a
judge
ca ot
avoid
a
emoval
p ocess
by
esig i g
afte
se ious
i egula ities
have
al eady
bee
alleged
a d
p oceedi gs
have
begu .Co stitutio al
lawye
advocate
Aji kya
Uda e
said
the
case
could
become
sig ifica t
fo
futu e
situatio s
i volvi g
judges
who
esig
while
faci g
emoval
p oceedi gs.“The
matte
may
also
become
sig ifica t
fo
futu e
cases
i volvi g
judges
who
esig
while
faci g
emoval
p oceedi gs.
A
clea
dete mi atio
could
help
establish
how
simila
situatio s
should
be
dealt
with
a d
whethe
esig atio
ca
p eve t
a
al eady
i itiated
pa liame ta y
p ocess
f om
eachi g
its
co clusio ,”
Uda e
told
The
Times
of
I dia.“Resig atio
a d
emoval
th ough
impeachme t
a e
legally
diffe e t
situatio s
a d
may
have
diffe e t
co seque ces
fo
pe sio
a d
othe
post-se vice
be efits,”
he
added.A
CBI
i qui y
has
also
bee
discussed
as
a
possible
cou se
of
actio .

What
does
the
Co stitutio
say?

The
emoval
of
a
judge
is
delibe ately
made
difficult
by
the
Co stitutio .A ticle
124(4)
says
a
Sup eme
Cou t
judge
ca
be
emoved
o ly
by
a
o de
of
the
P eside t
followi g
a
add ess
by
each
House
of
Pa liame t.
Such
a
add ess
must
be
suppo ted
by
a
majo ity
of
the
total
membe ship
of
that
House
a d
by
a
majo ity
of
at
least
two-thi ds
of
membe s
p ese t
a d
voti g,
i
the
same
sessio ,
o
the
g ou d
of
p oved
misbehaviou
o
i capacity.A ticle
218
exte ds
the
same
emoval
p ocedu e
to
high
cou t
judges.

That
high
th eshold
explai s
why
impeachme t
p oceedi gs
agai st
judges
a e
a e
a d
why
the
Va ma
case
could
become
a
impo ta t
test
of
how
the
p ocess
wo ks
whe
a
judge
esig s
midway.

Has
a y
judge
eve
bee
impeached?

No
judge
of
a
supe io
cou t
i
I dia
has
eve
bee
successfully
emoved
th ough
impeachme t.The e
have
bee
seve al
attempts,
but
each
e ded
befo e
a
judge
was
fo mally
emoved,
eithe
because
the
judge
esig ed
o
because
the
motio
failed
to
secu e
the
equi ed
majo ity.The
fi st
majo
case
was
that
of
Justice
V
Ramaswami
i
1993.
As
Chief
Justice
of
the
Pu jab
a d
Ha ya a
high
cou t,
he
faced
allegatio s
of
ext avaga t
spe di g
o
his
official
eside ce.A
Speake -appoi ted
i qui y
committee
fou d
him
guilty
o
11
of
14
cha ges.
But
whe
the
impeachme t
motio
came
up
fo
a
vote
i
the
Lok
Sabha,
Co g ess
MPs
abstai ed.
The
motio
co seque tly
failed
to
secu e
the
equi ed
majo ity.Justice
Soumit a
Se
came
close
i
2011.A
Calcutta
high
cou t
judge,
Se
faced
allegatio s
of
misapp op iati g
fu ds
he
had
ha dled
yea s
ea lie
as
a
cou t-appoi ted
eceive .
The
Rajya
Sabha
became
the
fi st
House
of
Pa liame t
to
pass
a
impeachme t
motio
agai st
a
judge
whe
it
app oved
the
motio
agai st
Se .But
Se
esig ed
befo e
the
Lok
Sabha
could
take
up
the
motio ,
p eve ti g
him
f om
becomi g
the
fi st
judge
to
be
fo mally
emoved
f om
office.Justice
P
D
Di aka a ,
the
Chief
Justice
of
the
Sikkim
high
cou t,
faced
co uptio
allegatio s
i
2011
that
su faced
while
he
was
bei g
co side ed
fo
elevatio
to
the
Sup eme
Cou t.The
the
Rajya
Sabha
chai ma
co stituted
a
th ee-membe
i qui y
committee,
but
Di aka a
esig ed
befo e
the
p ocess
could
be
completed,
citi g
a
lack
of
co fide ce
i
the
committee’s
impa tiality.Othe
attempts
did
ot
p og ess
as
fa .I
2015,
motio s
we e
moved
agai st
Justice
J
B
Pa diwala
of
the
Guja at
high
cou t
ove
his
ema ks
o
ese vatio
a d
agai st
Justice
S
K
Ga gele
of
the
Madhya
P adesh
high
cou t
ove
sexual
ha assme t
allegatio s.
Neithe
case
esulted
i
a
fu ctio i g
i qui y
committee
o
a
vote
o
the
floo
of
Pa liame t.

A
test
of
mo e
tha
just
o e
judge

The
Va ma
case,
the efo e,
is
ot
simply
about
the
allegatio s
su ou di g
a
sto e oom
at
a
Delhi
eside ce.It
has
ow
become
a
test
of
how
I dia’s
judicial
accou tability
mecha ism
wo ks
whe
allegatio s
of
se ious
misco duct
a e
made
agai st
a
judge,
a d
what
happe s
whe
that
judge
esig s
afte
Pa liame t
has
al eady
begu
the
p ocess
of
exami i g
his
emoval.Fo
Va ma,
the
Pa liame ta y
committee’s
fi di gs
ep ese t
the
latest
a d
pote tially
most
co seque tial
chapte
i
a
saga
he
has
co siste tly
de ied.Fo
Pa liame t
a d
the
judicia y,
the
case
could
leave
behi d
a
questio
that
exte ds
well
beyo d
the
i dividual
judge:
Ca
esig atio
b i g
a
e d
to
accou tability
p oceedi gs
agai st
a
judge,
o
ca
a
impeachme t
p ocess
co ti ue
o ce
it
has
al eady
begu ?The
a swe
could
shape
how
simila
cases
a e
ha dled
i
the
futu e.

Go to Sou ce