Overview
- An affidavit by the Lok Sabha Secretary General told the Supreme Court that Justice Yashwant Varma’s challenge rests on incorrect facts and that no prejudice resulted from constituting the inquiry committee.
- The filing argues courts cannot examine the Speaker’s decision as it falls within proceedings in Parliament and says Section 3 of the Judges Inquiry Act triggers a joint committee only if both Houses admit motions moved the same day.
- It records that the Rajya Sabha motion by 62 MPs was not admitted and was rejected by the Deputy Chairman on August 11, 2025, leaving only the Lok Sabha motion operative.
- Representing Varma, senior advocate Mukul Rohatgi contended that simultaneous motions required a joint committee and that the Speaker’s panel is non est after the Rajya Sabha rejection, as the bench queried where the Act bars the Lok Sabha from proceeding.
- The dispute follows an in-house panel’s finding—upheld by the Supreme Court on August 7, 2025—that half-burnt cash found after a March 14 fire pointed to covert control of a storeroom and warranted impeachment.