GOVT MAY MOVE FOR JUSTICE VARMA IMPEACHMENT IN MONSOON SESSION

The Union government might bring a motion for the impeachment of Justice Yashwant Varma in the upcoming monsoon session of Parliament over allegations of a cash haul from his residence in Delhi in March, people aware of the matter said on Tuesday.

- Smriti Kak Ramachandran and Saubhadra Chatterji

For an impeachment motion against a judge of a constitutional court to be considered by any House of Parliament, at least 50 members need to back it in the Rajya Sabha and at least 100 in the Lok Sabha. For the motion to pass, it has to garner the support of a two-thirds majority of the members in each House. This means that a successful impeachment motion will need bipartisan support.

If Justice Varma is removed, he will be the first judge of a constitutional court to be.

According to a government functionary, the process of impeachment is likely to be initiated by the offices of the Lok Sabha Speaker and the Rajya Sabha Chairman. The Monsoon session is also expected to debate the Pahalgam terror attack the Operation Sindoor.

While the Opposition too has pushed for his impeachment, the government side is also not opposed to the idea. Rajya Sabha chairman, Jagdeep Dhankhar, too has questioned the delay in filing of FIR in the matter...The ruling National Democratic Alliance has the required strength to move the motion," said the functionary quoted above.

The government informally reached out to a top-ranking Congress leader last week to gauge the principal opposition party's position on the issue, said a second functionary. The government functionary and the Opposition leader had an extensive discussion, the functionary added. Other opposition parties are yet to be consulted. Trinamool Congress's Sudip Bandopadhyay and Derek O'Brien told HT that the government had not spoken to them.