Chief Justice of India (CJI) BR Gavai on Wednesday recused himself from hearing a plea filed by Justice Yashwant Varma of the Allahabad High Court.
The petition challenges the in-house committee report that indicted Justice Varma following the recovery of a large amount of unaccounted cash from his official residence in Delhi.
Senior advocate Kapil Sibal, appearing for Justice Varma, mentioned the matter before the CJI and urged for early listing, citing important constitutional issues involved in the case.
"We have raised some constitutional issues. I request your lordships to list it as early as possible," Sibal said.
"It will not be possible for me to take up this matter because I was also part of the committee. We will list it. I will have to constitute a bench," the CJI said, responding to senior advocate Sibal.
The matter was being heard by a bench comprising CJI Gavai, Justice K Vinod Chandran, and Justice Joymalya Bagchi.
Alleging that the panel's findings were based on a preconceived narrative, Justice Varma said the inquiry timelines were driven solely by the urge to conclude proceedings swiftly, even at the expense of "procedural fairness".
The petition contended that the inquiry panel drew adverse findings without affording him a full and fair hearing.
The Treasury and Opposition benches on Monday submitted a notice to Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla for the impeachment of Justice Verma, as recommended by a Supreme Court-appointed panel.
A total of 145 Lok Sabha members signed the impeachment motion under Articles 124, 217, and 218 of the Constitution.
MPs from various parties, including the Congress, TDP, JD(U), JD(S), Jana Sena Party, AGP, Shiv Sena (Shinde faction), LJSP, SKP, CPM, and others signed the memorandum.
In the Upper House, Vice President Jagdeep Dhankhar said he received a motion seeking Justice Varma's removal, signed by over 50 Rajya Sabha MPs. Since 152 Lok Sabha MPs submitted a similar notice, he directed the secretary-general to take necessary steps to move the impeachment process forward.
A report of the inquiry panel probing the incident had said that Justice Varma and his family members had covert or active control over the store room where a huge cache of half-burnt cash was found, proving his misconduct which is serious enough to seek his removal.
The three-judge panel headed by Chief Justice Sheel Nagu of the Punjab and Haryana High Court conducted the inquiry for 10 days, examined 55 witnesses and visited the scene of the accidental fire that started at around 11.35 pm on March 14 at the official residence of Justice Varma, then a sitting judge of the Delhi High Court and now in the Allahabad High Court.
Acting on the report, then CJI Khanna wrote to President Droupadi Murmu and Prime Minister Narendra Modi recommending the judge's impeachment.
