Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla announced on Saturday that the probe report investigating corruption allegations against Justice Yashwant Varma will be tabled in the Lok Sabha during the upcoming Monsoon Session, scheduled to begin on July 20, 2026.
Speaking on the sidelines of an interactive programme with West Bengal MLAs, Birla clarified that the House will collectively decide on the next course of action once the findings are officially presented. The report, compiled by a three-member inquiry committee headed by Supreme Court Justice Aravind Kumar, is highly likely to be tabled on the first day of the legislative session.
Origin of the Controversial Allegations
Justice Yashwant Varma, currently a judge of the Allahabad High Court, came under intense scrutiny following a bizarre incident in March 2025 at his New Delhi residence:
- The Incident: Emergency responders attending to a minor house fire reportedly discovered bundles of unaccounted, partially burnt currency notes hidden in an outhouse.
- The Fallout: At the time, Justice Varma was serving as a judge of the Delhi High Court. Following the incident and the ensuing controversy, he was repatriated to his parent court, the Allahabad High Court.
More than 146 cross-party Lok Sabha MPs—including prominent leaders like Congress’s Rahul Gandhi, and BJP’s Ravi Shankar Prasad and Anurag Singh Thakur—swiftly signed a joint notice seeking his formal removal.
Resignation Ambiguity and Parliamentary Stance
Though Justice Varma tendered his resignation in April 2026 as impeachment loomed, the procedural matter remains unresolved:
The Legal Loophole: While some legal experts argue that a judge’s resignation renders a removal motion infructuous, highly placed sources told TOI that the President of India has not yet formally accepted the resignation. Consequently, the Allahabad High Court continues to list him among its serving judges, leaving the window open for active parliamentary action.
Despite the resignation attempt, the Speaker’s inquiry committee pushed forward to complete its investigation and submitted its final dossier to Om Birla. For his part, Justice Varma has fiercely denied any wrongdoing before both the parliamentary panel and an internal in-house committee formed by former Chief Justice of India Sanjiv Khanna, claiming he has no knowledge of how the unaccounted cash ended up at his estate.
Historical Context of Impeachment in India
The upcoming session could mark a historic precedent for the Indian judiciary. To date, no judge has ever been successfully removed via the impeachment process in India’s history.
Judicial Removal Motions in India: Historical Outcomes
├── Garnered insufficient votes / Failed to pass in Parliament
└── Inconclusive because the accused Judge resigned mid-process
In all past instances, removal motions either failed to secure the rigorous two-thirds majority required in Parliament or were cut short when the targeted judge resigned before a final vote could be cast.