The Lok Sabha will take up a bipartisan motion to remove Allahabad High Court Judge Justice Yashwant Varma, implicated in a corruption scandal, while a similar opposition-led motion in the Rajya Sabha was not admitted, officials confirmed on July 25, 2025. Parliamentary Affairs Minister Kiren Rijiju announced that 152 MPs from both the ruling NDA and opposition parties signed the Lok Sabha motion, reflecting a unified stance against judicial corruption.

The controversy erupted after a March 2025 fire at Varma’s Delhi residence revealed piles of burnt and unburnt currency notes, estimated by some sources at Rs 15 crore. A Supreme Court-appointed three-judge panel, led by then-Chief Justice Sanjiv Khanna, indicted Varma, finding he and his family had control over the storeroom where the cash was found, recommending his removal. Varma, repatriated from Delhi to Allahabad High Court, refused to resign and challenged the panel’s findings in the Supreme Court, calling them “unconstitutional.”

The Rajya Sabha motion, backed by 63 opposition MPs, was not admitted despite former Chairman Jagdeep Dhankhar acknowledging it on July 21, a move that reportedly led to his abrupt resignation that night after government objections. Rijiju emphasized that the Lok Sabha will lead the proceedings under the Judges (Inquiry) Act, with Speaker Om Birla set to form a three-member committee comprising a Supreme Court judge, a High Court chief justice, and a distinguished jurist.

Also Read: Supreme Court Rejects Urgent Hearing in Allahabad HC Judge Cash Row Plea

While the motion has cross-party support, including from Congress, BJP, TDP, and JDU, the Trinamool Congress and Samajwadi Party did not sign. Varma’s Supreme Court plea, represented by senior advocates like Kapil Sibal, awaits an urgent hearing. The case, highlighting rare judicial impeachment efforts, underscores tensions between Parliament and the judiciary, with no judge successfully removed in India’s history.

Also Read: Lok Sabha to Run Smoothly After All-Party Consensus