Judicial corruption: Panel probing HC judge Yashwant Varma case reconstituted

New Delhi (PTI): Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla has reconstituted a three-member committee set up to probe the grounds for the removal of Justice Yashwant Varma after burnt wads of cash were recovered from his residence here in March last year.

The committee has also been granted a three-month extension beginning February 26, a Lok Sabha secretariat official said on Thursday.

The speaker had constituted the committee on August 12 last year after admitting a multi-party notice for the removal of the Allahabad High Court judge, setting in motion the process of his impeachment.

"In partial modification of the notification... the Speaker, Lok Sabha, has reconstituted with effect from the 6th March, 2026, for the purpose of making an investigation into the grounds on which the removal of Justice Yashwant Varma of the Allahabad High Court is prayed for, a Committee consisting of the following three Members:- 1. Hon'ble Justice Aravind Kumar, Supreme Court of India; 2. Hon'ble Justice Shree Chandrashekhar, Chief Justice of the Bombay High Court; and 3. Shri B.V. Acharya, Senior Advocate, Karnataka High Court," a notification issued by Lok Sabha Secretary General Utpal Kumar Singh said on Wednesday.

While Justice Kumar and Acharya were also part of the previous committee, Justice Chandrashekhar is a new member. He has replaced Madras High Court Chief Justice Manindra Mohan Shrivastava.

Justice Shrivastava demits office on March 5 on attaining the age of 62 years, the retirement age of high court judges.

Separately, Union law ministry sources said the probe committee has sought the assistance of one more advocate in completing the task.

The committee proceedings are held in the way courts function, where the accused are at liberty to defend themselves.

Following the recovery of cash, Justice Varma, then a judge of the Delhi High Court, was repatriated to the Allahabad High Court, his parent high court.

The Judges (Inquiry) Act, 1968 provides the legal framework in India for investigating allegations of misbehaviour or incapacity against Supreme Court and high court judges and provides for a probe committee to investigate the charges.

The Supreme Court and high court judges, besides the chief election commissioner (CEC), can only be removed by Parliament through a legal framework prescribed in the Judges (Inquiry) Act.

So far, no judge or CEC has been removed, though there were attempts in the past to sack two high court judges.