Overview

• A Supreme Court–appointed three-judge inquiry concluded in May that Justice Varma and his family controlled the storeroom where charred bundles of cash were found at his Delhi residence after a March fire.
• Chief Justice Sanjiv Khanna sent the inquiry report to President Murmu and Prime Minister Modi on May 8, paving the way for an impeachment motion when Parliament reconvenes on July 21.
• Lawmakers questioned why no FIR was lodged in the cash recovery case and why no motion to remove Varma has yet been tabled despite the panel’s findings.
• At a June 24 meeting, the parliamentary standing committee on law and justice asked the Department of Justice to draft a comprehensive code of conduct for judges and propose a mandatory five-year cooling-off period for post-retirement assignments.
• Observers have highlighted opposition leaders’ vigorous push for Justice Shekhar Yadav’s impeachment alongside their relative silence on Varma’s case, underscoring calls for consistent judicial accountability.