Supreme Court to Hear Justice Varma's Challenge Against Inquiry Report

The Supreme Court is set to hear the plea of Justice Yashwant Varma of the Allahabad High Court, who challenges a report by a three-judge in-house inquiry committee and a subsequent recommendation for his impeachment by former Chief Justice of India, Sanjiv Khanna. The hearing, scheduled for July 28, will be conducted by Justices Dipankar Datta and Augustine George Masih.

Justice Varma alleges that he was not granted a fair opportunity to address the allegations before the committee finalized its findings. The case revolves around cash allegedly discovered by firefighters during a fire at his Delhi residence on March 14. Justice Varma was not present at the scene and has vehemently denied any involvement or knowledge of the money, stating that neither he nor his family put it there.

In his plea, Justice Varma claims the committee operated with a pre-determined bias, drawing negative inferences without concrete evidence and reversing the burden of proof. He seeks a declaration that the May 8, 2025 recommendation to remove him is unconstitutional. The petition criticizes the in-house procedure for overstepping its intended mandate, arguing it infringes on the constitutional separation of powers by creating a parallel mechanism outside the purview of parliamentary authority.

(With inputs from agencies.)