The Lok Sabha Speaker has reconstituted the three-member inquiry committee probing corruption allegations against Justice Yashwant Varma. The change comes ahead of the retirement of Madras High Court Chief Justice Maninder Mohan Shrivastava on March 5.
Bombay High Court Chief Justice Shree Chandrashekhar will replace Justice Shrivastava on the panel. Justice Aravind Kumar of the Supreme Court will continue as the Chairperson. Senior Advocate BV Acharya will remain the third member. The reconstitution will take effect from March 6.
Committee formed under Judges (Inquiry) Act, 1968
The Lok Sabha constituted the inquiry committee in August last year under Section 3 of the Judges (Inquiry) Act, 1968. The move followed a motion by 146 Lok Sabha MPs seeking the impeachment of Justice Varma.
Justice Varma challenged the committee’s constitution before the Supreme Court. The Supreme Court rejected the challenge.
Currency notes recovery triggered controversy
The allegations trace back to March 14, 2025. During a fire-fighting operation, officials reportedly discovered a large quantity of currency notes in an outhouse at Justice Varma’s official residence.
At the time, Justice Varma served as a judge of the Delhi High Court. The reported recovery sparked widespread public controversy.
In-house inquiry and subsequent steps
After the incident, then Chief Justice of India Sanjiv Khanna constituted an in-house inquiry committee. The committee included:
- Justice Sheel Nagu (then Chief Justice, Punjab & Haryana High Court)
- Justice GS Sandhawalia (then Chief Justice, Himachal Pradesh High Court)
- Justice Anu Sivaraman (Judge, Karnataka High Court)
Following this, authorities repatriated Justice Varma to the Allahabad High Court. They also withdrew judicial work from him while the inquiry proceeded.
Report sent to President and Prime Minister
The in-house committee submitted its report to then CJI Khanna in May. It recorded a prima facie finding on Justice Varma’s culpability.
The CJI then advised Justice Varma to resign. Justice Varma did not accept the advice. The CJI subsequently forwarded the report to the President and the Prime Minister for further action.
