NEW DELHI: Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla is expected to announce the formation of a high-level inquiry committee to examine charges against Allahabad high court Judge Yashwant Varma, news agency PTI reported on Thursday quoting official sources.
The move follows the submission of a notice signed by 152 Members of Parliament on July 21, calling for a probe into the grounds for Justice Varma’s potential removal. The notice, now deemed the "property of the House," has triggered formal consultations to establish a three-member inquiry panel .
According to the Judges (Inquiry) Act, such a committee must include either the Chief Justice of India or a Supreme Court judge, a Chief Justice of a high court, and a distinguished jurist. Sources confirmed that consultations are already underway, with Speaker Birla expected to write to the Chief Justice of India to recommend two of the committee members. The choice of the jurist, however, will rest solely with the Speaker.
The Rajya Sabha is also involved in the process, as a similar notice signed by 63 opposition MPs was submitted to the Upper House on the same day. Consequently, coordination between both Houses has become crucial to the next steps.
Since the submission of the notices, senior leaders including home minister Amit Shah, Rajya Sabha leader of the house JP Nadda, Speaker Birla, and deputy Chairman Harivansh, who is currently presiding over the Upper House following Chairman Jagdeep Dhankhar’s resignation, have been in intense deliberations over the path ahead.
Dhankhar, who had invoked the Judges (Inquiry) Act in the Rajya Sabha on Monday to clarify procedure, later resigned in a surprise move, citing health concerns. However, political observers believe his resignation followed discontent within the government over his decision to acknowledge the opposition-backed notice despite a bipartisan one already before the Lok Sabha.
With Harivansh now temporarily in charge, the fate of the Rajya Sabha notice remains uncertain. “We have not been told anything so far,” said an opposition MP who signed the notice.
As per the Act, the three-member committee will examine the grounds for seeking the judge’s removal and determine whether the charges warrant further action.
The move follows the submission of a notice signed by 152 Members of Parliament on July 21, calling for a probe into the grounds for Justice Varma’s potential removal. The notice, now deemed the "property of the House," has triggered formal consultations to establish a three-member inquiry panel .
According to the Judges (Inquiry) Act, such a committee must include either the Chief Justice of India or a Supreme Court judge, a Chief Justice of a high court, and a distinguished jurist. Sources confirmed that consultations are already underway, with Speaker Birla expected to write to the Chief Justice of India to recommend two of the committee members. The choice of the jurist, however, will rest solely with the Speaker.
The Rajya Sabha is also involved in the process, as a similar notice signed by 63 opposition MPs was submitted to the Upper House on the same day. Consequently, coordination between both Houses has become crucial to the next steps.
Since the submission of the notices, senior leaders including home minister Amit Shah, Rajya Sabha leader of the house JP Nadda, Speaker Birla, and deputy Chairman Harivansh, who is currently presiding over the Upper House following Chairman Jagdeep Dhankhar’s resignation, have been in intense deliberations over the path ahead.
Dhankhar, who had invoked the Judges (Inquiry) Act in the Rajya Sabha on Monday to clarify procedure, later resigned in a surprise move, citing health concerns. However, political observers believe his resignation followed discontent within the government over his decision to acknowledge the opposition-backed notice despite a bipartisan one already before the Lok Sabha.
With Harivansh now temporarily in charge, the fate of the Rajya Sabha notice remains uncertain. “We have not been told anything so far,” said an opposition MP who signed the notice.
As per the Act, the three-member committee will examine the grounds for seeking the judge’s removal and determine whether the charges warrant further action.
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