Inquiry panel probing Justice Varma reconstituted by Lok Sabha

The committee appointed by the Lok Sabha Speaker to investigate corruption charges against Justice Yashwant Varma has been reconstituted, according to a notification issued by the secretary-general of the house on February 25.

One of the three members of the committee, Madras High Court Chief Justice Manindra Mohan Shrivastava is set to retire on March 6. He has been replaced with Bombay High Court Chief Justice Shree Chandrashekhar.

The inquiry committee had been appointed by Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla in August last year after 152 MPs from both the ruling coalition and the Opposition had moved an impeachment motion against Justice Varma, a judge in the Delhi High Court at that time.

Unaccounted cash was allegedly recovered at Varma’s official residence in Delhi when emergency services responded to a fire there on March 14. The judge said he was in Bhopal when the cash was discovered and claimed that it did not belong to him or his family. The controversy prompted his transfer to the Allahabad High Court.

While admitting the motion to impeach Justice Varma, Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla had stated in the house that the committee would submit its report at the earliest. But the investigation was delayed since Justice Varma challenged the legality of the inquiry...

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