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The Supreme Court connected Friday (January 16, 2026) refused to assistance immoderate alleviation to Allahabad High Court judge, Justice Yashwant Varma, who had challenged the “unilateral” mounting up of an inquiry committee by Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla to analyse allegations of burnt currency recovered connected his residential premises successful March past year.
A Bench headed by Justice Dipankar Datta rejected the petition filed by Justice Varma, anonymously identified arsenic 'X' successful the origin title, for deficiency of immoderate merit. The Bench had reserved the lawsuit for judgement connected January 8.
The tribunal recovered nary procedural irregularity oregon illegality successful the mounting up of the three-member committee of Supreme Court judge, Justice Aravind Kumar, Chief Justice of Madras High Court M.M. Shrivastava and elder advocator Vasudeva Acharya nether the Judges (Inquiry) Act connected August 12, 2025.
The committee was acceptable up connected the ground of a announcement of question submitted by implicit 140 Lok Sabha MPs for the removal of Justice Varma.
The Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha Secretariats, represented by Solicitor General Tushar Mehta, had argued that the justice acrophobic was incapable to amusement bias connected the portion of the authorization who constituted the committee.
Mr. Mehta had contended that the justice had nary vested close nether the Judges (Inquiry) Act to question the enactment of an enquiry sheet jointly by some the Chairman and the Speaker.
The tribunal had pointed retired that yet the study of the enquiry committee would beryllium placed successful the Parliament, and it would beryllium for the MPs of some Houses to statement if the justice was to beryllium removed oregon not.
Justuce Varma had contended that the constitution of the committee nether Section 3(2) of the 1968 Act violated some his close to beryllium treated and protected arsenic by the law.
The justice had argued that though notices of question for removal were fixed successful some Houses of the Parliament connected the aforesaid day, the Speaker constituted the committee unilaterally. The Act mandated associated consultation with the Chairman.
On July 21, MPs had fixed abstracted notices of question earlier some the Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha seeking the removal of Justice Varma. Both motions had met the numerical requirement. While the announcement submitted to Mr. Dhankhar had signatures of 63 Opposition members, the 1 submitted to Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla received bipartisan backing.
Mr. Dhankar resigned unexpectedly connected July 21. It was not wide whether helium had admitted the motion, though helium had clarified that helium had received it.
On August 11, the Deputy Chairman of the Rajya Sabha rejected the announcement of question successful the Upper House.
However, Mr. Birla, connected the precise adjacent day, admitted the announcement of question earlier him and constituted the three-member enquiry committee.
“The Speaker has acted successful wide derogation of the proviso of Section 3(2) of the 1968 Act by unilaterally constituting a committee connected August 12, 2025 aft admitting a question fixed earlier the Lok Sabha successful July 21, arsenic connected the precise aforesaid time a abstracted question was fixed successful the Rajya Sabha which had not been admitted,” Justice Varma's petition had argued.
