Union Government likely to initiate impeachment proceedings against Justice Yashwant Varma indicted in cash scandal

In a historically rare action, the central government is likely to initiate impeachment proceedings against former Delhi High Court Judge, Justice Yashwant Varma, in the upcoming Monsoon session of the Parliament. Justice Varma was indicted by an in-house inquiry panel of the Supreme Court in connection with the discovery of unaccounted cash at his residence in March this year during a fire incident.

As per reports, on 9th May, the former Chief Justice of India Sanjeev Khanna forwarded the report of the inquiry panel along with a recommendation to initiate impeachment proceedings against Justice Varma, to President Droupadi Murmu and PM Modi. President Murmu has reportedly forwarded the CJI’s recommendations to the Speakers of the Lok Sabha and the Rajya Sabha.

Based on the report of the inquiry panel, the CJI had asked Justice Varma to resign which he refused to do. This led to the CJI recommending the initiation of impeachment proceedings against Justice Varma. After bags of partially burnt currency noted were found at his official residence in Delhi, Justice Varma as transferred to Allahabad High Court by the Supreme Court collegium.

CJI Khanna formed the inquiry panel on 22nd March, comprising Justice Sheel Nagu, Chief Justice of the High Court of Punjab & Haryana; Justice G S Sandhawalia, Chief Justice of the High Court of Himachal Pradesh; and Justice Anu Sivaraman, Judge of the High Court of Karnataka. An RTI was filed with the Supreme Court seeking details of the committee report and the letters written by the Chief Justice which was rejected by the Supreme Court.

What are the allegations against Justice Varma

On March 14, 2025, a huge amount of undeclared cash was found at the house of Justice Yashwant Varma of the Delhi High Court on Holi in a fire incident. Questions were raised over such a huge stash of cash being found at the house of a sitting judge, as videos of half-burnt currency notes surfaced online. Justice Varma had denied having any knowledge of the cash and said that he was in Bhopal the day the cash was found at his house.

The process of impeachment

Under the Constitution of India, a judge of the Supreme Court or a High Court can only be removed from his office by way of impeachment on the grounds of proved misbehaviour or incapacity. The removal process can be initiated in either House of the Parliament through a motion approved by the Presiding officer of the House.

The motion is preceded by members of either House of the Parliament giving signed notice to the Presiding Offficer. In Lok Sabha, at least 100 members need to give a signed notice to the Speaker and in Rajya Sabha, at 50 members of the Rajya Sabha need to give a signed notice to the Chairman. The Speaker or Chairman consult MPs and jurists. If the notice is accepted by the Speaker or the Chairman, a 3-member committee, comprising a Supreme Court judge, a High Court Chief Justice and a distinguished jurist, will be formed to investigate the charges against Justice Varma.

The committee will decide the charges which will be followed by an investigation. A copy of the charges will be sent to Justice Varma who will be required to submit a reply. On completion of the investigation, the committee will submit its report to the Speaker of the Chairman, which will then be tabled in the concerned House of the Parliament. The motion needs to be passed by a majority of the total membership of the House and a two-thirds majority of members present and voting.

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