Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla has reconstituted the three-member panel to probe the allegations against Supreme Court Justice Yashwant Varma over the discovery of unaccounted cash at his official residence in Delhi last year, effective March 6.
The move came ahead of the retirement of Madras High Court Chief Justice M M Shrivastava, part of the original committee, on March 6. HT on February 9 first reported that the panel had expedited its on-camera proceedings due to the impending retirement of Justice Shrivastava. She stated that if the investigation was not completed before he left his office, the committee would have to be reconstituted.
The new committee consists of Supreme Court judge Justice Aravind Kumar, Shri Chandrashekar, Chief Justice of the Bombay High Court, and senior advocate P V Acharya.
A three-member committee, comprising a judge of the Supreme Court, a chief justice of the Supreme Court and a senior jurist, is constituted to investigate the charges once the application for removal of a judge under the Judges (Investigation) Act is accepted. The committee brings charges, records evidence, and allows the judge to defend himself, including questioning and questioning witnesses. The motion can then be put forward for consideration and voted on in Parliament if the committee finds the judge guilty of misconduct or incapacity.
Justice Varma is facing deportation proceedings after unaccounted cash was allegedly discovered at his official residence after a fire in March 2025, when he was serving as a Delhi High Court judge.
A Supreme Court inquiry found his explanation unsatisfactory, prompting then Chief Justice of India Sanjeev Khanna to recommend action to the executive.
Notices seeking the removal of Justice Varma were moved to both Houses of Parliament in July 2025. The Lok Sabha recognized the motion on August 12 and constituted the inquiry committee. The Rajya Sabha refused to accept a parallel proposal.
In January, the Supreme Court cleared the way for the investigation to proceed, holding that constitutional guarantees for judges could not be used to paralyze the removal process, and that the legal framework provided sufficient protection for judicial independence. She dismissed Justice Varma’s challenge to the Speaker’s decision to constitute the committee, ruling that he had failed to prove any present or inevitable violation of his fundamental rights.
The court confirmed that the Judges (Investigation) Law provides “detailed guarantees” to the judge facing deportation proceedings. These include the formulation of specific charges, the full opportunity to defend oneself, the right to cross-examine and cross-examine witnesses, and the adjudication of cases by senior constitutional officers. The Court held that the legal system adequately protects the independence of the judiciary while ensuring that allegations of misconduct are examined effectively.
Justice Varma appeared for the first time before the committee on January 24, after the Supreme Court rejected his petition challenging the initiation of impeachment proceedings. Since then, at least five further hearings have been held before the Committee, with the Committee indicating its preference for day-to-day proceedings.
