New Delhi, Jan 7: Allahabad High Court judge Justice Yashwant Varma on Wednesday assailed before the Supreme Court the constitution of an inquiry committee by the Lok Sabha Speaker to probe corruption charges against him, contending that the panel was formed in violation of the Judges (Inquiry) Act, 1968.
Appearing for Justice Varma, senior advocate Mukul Rohatgi told a bench of Justices Dipankar Datta and Satish Chandra Sharma that since impeachment motions were moved in both the Lok Sabha and the Rajya Sabha on the same day, the law mandates the constitution of a joint inquiry committee by both Houses. He argued that as the motion in the Rajya Sabha stood rejected, the subsequent constitution of a committee by the Lok Sabha Speaker alone was “non est” in law.
Rohatgi also challenged the decision of the Deputy Chairman of the Rajya Sabha to reject the motion that had earlier been admitted by the Chairman, and questioned whether the Lok Sabha Speaker could unilaterally constitute an inquiry committee in such circumstances. He submitted that the three-member panel formed under Section 3(2) of the Act violated the mandatory procedure envisaged under Article 124(5) of the Constitution.
The senior counsel maintained that once impeachment motions are moved simultaneously in both Houses, no committee can be constituted unless both motions are admitted, in which case a joint committee is required. “In the present case, one motion was rejected. Therefore, the committee constituted thereafter is non est in law,” he said.
The bench, however, questioned whether rejection of a motion in one House would automatically invalidate proceedings in the other. Justice Datta observed that the Act does not expressly bar the Lok Sabha from appointing a committee if the Rajya Sabha rejects the motion. Rohatgi responded that the law mandates a joint process once motions are moved on the same day, and failure of one House to admit the motion vitiates the entire exercise.
Referring to records, Rohatgi said the Rajya Sabha Deputy Chairman rejected the motion on August 11, while the Lok Sabha Speaker constituted the inquiry committee on August 12. The hearing is underway.
Justice Varma was repatriated from the Delhi High Court to the Allahabad High Court after burnt wads of currency were allegedly found at his official residence in New Delhi on March 14. The Supreme Court on December 16 agreed to hear his plea challenging the inquiry committee and issued notices to the Lok Sabha Speaker and the Secretaries-General of both Houses.
Earlier, then Chief Justice of India Sanjiv Khanna had ordered an in-house inquiry by a three-member committee of high court judges, which reportedly found Justice Varma guilty of misconduct. After he declined to resign, the report was forwarded to the President and the Prime Minister, paving the way for impeachment proceedings. Subsequently, Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla admitted a motion for his removal and constituted a three-member inquiry committee, the validity of which is now under challenge before the apex court. (Agencies)
