Particle.news
Download on the App Store
34 ARTICLES
·
4d ago

Supreme Court Grills Justice Varma Over Bid to Quash In-House Inquiry Report

Justices Datta and Masih pressed him on why he joined the inquiry then delayed his challenge; the Lok Sabha has admitted an impeachment notice, with a statutory tribunal set to form under the Judges Inquiry Act.

Delhi High Court Judge Yashwant Verma Cash Row | Image: Republic World
A bench of Justices Dipankar Datta and Augustine George Masih will hear the Yashwant Varma case on Monday.
Image

Overview

  • On July 28, a bench led by Justices Dipankar Datta and A G Masih questioned Varma’s decision to participate in the in-house panel and why he waited months to file his anonymized “XXX vs Union of India” petition, posting the matter for July 30 after ordering corrections and a one-page summary of arguments.
  • Varma’s petition seeks to quash the May 3 in-house inquiry report and the May 8 recommendation by then-CJI Sanjiv Khanna to the President and Prime Minister for his removal, alleging that the probe reversed the burden of proof and exceeded the panel’s constitutional mandate.
  • The three-judge panel had concluded that Varma and his family exercised control over a storeroom where half-burnt cash was recovered by Delhi Fire Service personnel during a March 14 blaze at his official residence, deeming the conduct serious judicial misconduct.
  • In the Lok Sabha, more than 150 MPs have backed a removal notice against Varma and the Speaker is set to request names for a judicial inquiry committee under the Judges (Inquiry) Act, 1968, to formally examine the charges.
  • Advocate Mathews J Nedumpara has filed a separate petition before the same bench seeking registration of an FIR to investigate the discovery and subsequent disappearance of the cash recovered at Varma’s residence.