Cash Controversy: 145 Lok Sabha MPs Sign Impeachment Notice Against Justice Yashwant Varma

New Delhi: In a rare display of bipartisan unity, 145 Members of Parliament from both the ruling and opposition parties signed an impeachment notice against Justice Yashwant Varma on Monday. The notice was submitted to Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla.

The impeachment move follows the alleged discovery of large amounts of cash at Justice Varma’s official residence in Delhi in March. Among the signatories are prominent leaders such as Rahul Gandhi, Anurag Thakur, Ravi Shankar Prasad, Rajiv Pratap Rudy, P.P. Chaudhary, Supriya Sule, and K.C. Venugopal.

The notice was filed under Articles 217 and 218 of the Constitution, and received support from a broad spectrum of political parties, including the BJP, Congress, Telugu Desam Party (TDP), Janata Dal (United), Janata Dal (Secular), Janasena Party, Asom Gana Parishad (AGP), Shiv Sena (Shinde faction), NCP, and CPI(M).

With such overwhelming backing, the motion marks a historic step—it could potentially lead to the first-ever impeachment of a sitting High Court judge in independent India. Parliament is expected to take up the matter under Articles 124, 217, and 218, which govern the removal of judges for proven misbehavior or incapacity.

Under Article 217, a judge of a High Court can only be removed through a detailed process involving a two-thirds majority in both the Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha. Article 124(4) outlines that such a removal must be initiated by both Houses and then formally addressed to the President of India.

To initiate the process, at least 100 Lok Sabha MPs or 50 Rajya Sabha MPs must sign the impeachment notice. This requirement has been met in this case.

India has never successfully impeached a judge, though five attempts have been made in the past. The last such move was in 2018, when an unsuccessful impeachment motion was filed against former Chief Justice of India Dipak Misra over alleged administrative misconduct.

Justice Varma came under scrutiny after burnt cash was discovered on March 15 in the outhouse of his official residence in Delhi. At the time, he was serving in the Delhi High Court. The incident sparked a public outcry and raised concerns about corruption within the higher judiciary.

Now transferred to the Allahabad High Court, Justice Varma has denied all allegations, calling them "preposterous" and claiming neither he nor his family has any connection to the cash in question.

With inputs from IANS