Judge cash burning case: MPs submit notices for Justice Yashwant Varma's removal to LS Speaker, RS Chairman
A bipartisan delegation submitted a notice, bearing the signatures of 145 Lok Sabha members, for the removal of Justice Varma to Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla. The notice was submitted under Articles 124, 217 and 218 of the Constitution.
The signatories included Leader of the Opposition Rahul Gandhi, BJP leaders Ravi Shankar Prasad and Anurag Thakur, NCP-SP leader Supriya Sule, Congress leaders KC Venugopal and K Suresh, DMK leader TR Baalu, RSP member NK Premachandran and IUML member ET Mohammed Basheer, among others.
A similar removal notice was submitted by 63 Rajya Sabha members to RS Chairman Jagdeep Dhankar.
"Sixty-three opposition MPs, including those from AAP and INDIA bloc parties, have given a notice to the Rajya Sabha Chairman for removal of Justice Varma," Congress member Syed Naseer Hussain said.
He also said, although Trinamool Congress (TMC) members were not present on Monday, they are on board on the issue and will submit their signatures later.
According to the Judges (Inquiry) Act, when notices of a motion are submitted on the same day in both the Houses of the Parliament, a committee to examine the charges levelled against the judge will be constituted by the Lok Sabha Speaker and the Rajya Sabha Chairman.
The panel comprising a senior judge of the Supreme Court, a sitting chief justice of a high court and a distinguished jurist will then probe the charges levelled against Justice Varma and will be asked to come out with a report in three months.
The inquiry report will be tabled in Parliament, followed by a discussion in both Houses after which there will be voting on the motion for the removal of Justice Varma.
Following the cash controversy, Justice Varma was repatriated from the Delhi High Court to the Allahabad High Court.
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