Lok Sabha Speaker Forms 3-Member Panel To Investigate Justice Varma Cash Row Case

Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla on Tuesday announced that a three-member panel has been formed to probe allegations against High Court judge Justice Yashwant Varma. This comes after cash was allegedly found by fire tenders when a fire broke out at the judge’s Delhi residence on March 14, and the judge was not present at his house. At the time of the alleged discovery, Justice Varma was a judge of the Delhi High Court. 

Birla accepted the motion signed by 146 MPs for the impeachment of Justice Yashwant Verma. The members of the committee to probe the allegations include Justice Amit Kumar, Justice Maninder Mohan Srivastava, and B B Acharya, the Lok Sabha Speaker announced. 

“The members of the Committee include Justice Arvind Kumar, Supreme Court Judge, Justice Maninder Mohan Srivastava, Chief Justice Madras High Court, and BV Acharya, Senior Advocate, Karnataka High Court. The committee will submit its report as early as possible. The proposal will remain pending till the receipt of the report of the inquiry committee,” he said. 

#WATCH | Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla announces a 3-member panel to probe allegations against High Court judge Justice Yashwant Varma.

He says, “The members of the Committee include Justice Arvind Kumar, Supreme Court Judge, Justice Maninder Mohan Srivastava, Chief Justice… pic.twitter.com/hKTt4PiZFt
— ANI (@ANI) August 12, 2025

SC On Justice Varma Case

Earlier, the Supreme Court declined the plea of Justice Yashwant Varma, challenging the in-house three-judge inquiry committee’s report and former Chief Justice of India (CJI) Sanjiv Khanna’s recommendation to initiate impeachment proceedings against him.

A bench of Justices Dipankar Datta and Augustine George Masih had rejected Justice Yashwant Varma’s plea that stated that he was not given a fair opportunity to respond to the in-house inquiry committee before it presented its findings.

During a hearing on July 28, the apex court had posed various questions to Justice Yashwant Varma while hearing his plea. The court asked Senior Advocate Kapil Sibal, appearing on behalf of Justice Varma, why his client did not challenge the three-judge in-house inquiry procedure constituted by the Chief Justice of India before his appearance before the panel.

The top court has also questioned why Justice Varma chose to appear before the in-house inquiry panel if he believed it was unconstitutional, and why he is challenging it only now, after the proceedings have concluded.

(with ANI inputs)