Supreme Court To Examine Justice Yashwant Varma’s Challenge To Speaker-Led Inquiry Panel

The Supreme Court has agreed to examine a petition filed by Allahabad High Court judge Justice Yashwant Varma. The petition challenges the decision of Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla to “unilaterally” constitute a three-member inquiry committee under the Judges (Inquiry) Act, 1968, to investigate allegations of corruption against him.

A bench led by Justice Dipankar Datta issued notices to the Lok Sabha Speaker’s office, the Lok Sabha Secretariat, and the Secretaries-General of both the Lok Sabha and the Rajya Sabha. The court’s intervention follows a “procedural lapse” flagged by senior advocate Mukul Rohatgi, appearing for the judge, who argued that the Speaker overstepped his statutory authority.

The Procedural Deadlock

The crux of the legal challenge rests on Section

3(2) of the Judges (Inquiry) Act. Justice Varma contends that since motions for his removal were submitted in both Houses of Parliament on the same day (July 21, 2025), the law mandates a joint consultation between the Speaker of the Lok Sabha and the Chairman of the Rajya Sabha.

While the Lok Sabha motion, signed by 152 members, was admitted by Speaker Om Birla on August 12, the status of the motion in the Rajya Sabha—signed by 63 members—remained unclear following the sudden resignation of the then-Chairman, Jagdeep Dhankhar. Justice Varma argues that a “unilateral” committee formed by only one presiding officer is illegal when both Houses have been moved simultaneously. During the hearing, Justice Datta remarked on the oversight, asking, “So many MPs and legal experts but no one pointed this out?”

Background: The ‘Burnt Cash’ Controversy

The impeachment proceedings stem from a startling incident on March 14, 2025, when a fire broke out at Justice Varma’s official residence in Delhi (where he was then a judge of the Delhi High Court). Firefighters allegedly discovered sacks of half-burnt currency notes on the premises.

Following an in-house probe by then-CJI Sanjiv Khanna, which found prima facie evidence of misconduct, Justice Varma was transferred to the Allahabad High Court, and judicial work was withdrawn. After he refused to resign, the matter was forwarded to Parliament. The current inquiry committee, comprising Supreme Court judge Justice Aravind Kumar, Madras HC Chief Justice MM Shrivastava, and senior advocate BV Acharya, has already sought a defence statement from the judge by January 12, 2026. The Supreme Court has now slated the matter for a detailed hearing on January 7, 2026.