Will Justice Yashwant Varma Be 1st Judge To Get Impeached? Centre Weighing Options

Last Updated:May 28, 2025, 14:10 IST

Centre is considering bringing an impeachment motion against former Delhi High Court judge Justice Yashwant Varma in connection with the cash at residence case.

Justice Yashwant Varma likely to get impeached, Centre weighing options. (Image: X)

Following his indictment by the Supreme Court’s in-house inquiry panel, the central government is considering bringing an impeachment motion against former Delhi High Court judge Justice Yashwant Varma in connection with the cash at residence case during the upcoming monsoon session.

Earlier this month, a three-member committee set up by the Supreme Court confirmed the presence of cash found at Justice Varma’s residence in New Delhi after a fire broke out there around Holi on March 14.

The Parliament is contemplating the removal of Justice Yashwant Varma under the constitutional and judicial inquiry framework. Notably, the motion, if initiated, would set off a rare and highly structured removal process as outlined in the Constitution of India and the Judges Inquiry Act.

According to Article 217, along with Article 124(4), a High Court judge can only be removed by the President after both houses of Parliament pass a motion with a special majority, based on proven misbehavior or incapacity.

It is learnt that the President has now referred the former CJI’s recommendation to the Chairman of the Rajya Sabha and the Lok Sabha Speaker. Reportedly, former CJI Sanjiv Khanna’s report recommended impeachment and therefore, the motion has to be brought in Parliament.

Procedure Under Judges Inquiry Act

• The Judges Inquiry Act specifies that the process begins with a notice of motion given in Parliament, signed by 100 MPs in the Lok Sabha or 50 MPs in the Rajya Sabha. If the notice is admitted by the Speaker or Chairman, a three-member committee—comprising a Supreme Court judge, a High Court Chief Justice, and a distinguished jurist—is formed to investigate the charges.
• The judge is entitled to a fair hearing, including the right to respond to the charges and cross-examine witnesses. The committee will frame definite charges against the judge based on which the investigation is proposed to be held.
• After the investigation, the committee will submit its report to the Speaker or the Chairman, or to both if the committee is constituted jointly. If the committee finds the judge guilty, the matter returns to Parliament for a final vote.
• If the report says that the judge is guilty of any misbehaviour or suffers from any incapacity, the motion along with the report of the committee, will be taken up for consideration by the House or the Houses of Parliament in which it is pending.
• If the motion is adopted by each House of Parliament, the misbehaviour or incapacity of the judge will be deemed to have been proved. An address seeking the removal of the judge will be presented in the prescribed manner to the President by each House of Parliament in the same session in which the motion has been adopted.

For an impeachment motion against a judge to be passed, at least two-thirds of those present and voting in both Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha must vote in favour of the motion. The number of votes in favour must be more than 50 per cent of the total membership of each House.

And if the Parliament passes the vote, the President will then pass an order for the removal of the judge.

Notably, no High Court judge has ever been removed through impeachment in Indian history, making this potential move unprecedented.

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