Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla on Tuesday announced the formation of a three-member committee to investigate allegations against High Court judge Justice Yashwant Varma, following a motion for his impeachment signed by 146 MPs.
The panel will comprise Justice Amit Kumar, Justice Maninder Mohan Srivastava, and B.B. Acharya.
The development comes days after the Supreme Court, on August 7, upheld the in-house inquiry process that had recommended Justice Varma’s removal. The Allahabad High Court judge, formerly of the Delhi High Court, came under scrutiny after burnt currency notes were recovered from his official residence in the national capital following a fire in March 2025.
Justice Varma’s plea challenging the in-house inquiry report and the then Chief Justice of India Sanjiv Khanna’s recommendation for impeachment was dismissed by an apex court bench of Justices Dipankar Datta and Augustine George Masih. The court rejected his claim that he was denied a fair opportunity to respond before the committee submitted its findings. Senior Advocate Kapil Sibal represented Justice Varma.
During an earlier hearing on July 28, the Supreme Court had questioned why Justice Varma appeared before the in-house panel if he believed it was unconstitutional, and why he chose to challenge it only after the proceedings concluded.
The impeachment proceedings were triggered after fire tenders, responding to a blaze at Justice Varma’s Delhi residence on March 14, allegedly discovered burnt unaccounted cash on the premises. Justice Varma was not at home during the incident.
