New Delhi: Union Parliamentary Affairs Minister Kiren Rijiju stated that the motion to remove Justice Yashwant Verma, who remains in trouble after burnt wads of cash were recovered from his residence following a fire incident, will be moved in Lok Sabha first, as per the rules.
He said that the removal of Justice Verma should be a joint decision.
“The motion for the removal of Justice Yashwant Varma will be raised in the Lok Sabha, and then subsequently, it will be concurred by the Rajya Sabha. All political parties have agreed that the removal of Justice Yashwant Verma has to be a joint call,” Rijiju told reporters here.
He emphasised that initiating the impeachment process of Justice Verma was a collective responsibility of the Parliament, not just the government alone.
“We have been making efforts in relation to the matter of Justice Yashwant Verma. We have clearly stated that it is not only the government’s efforts, but the entire Parliament is responsible for addressing the issue of corruption in the judiciary and removing judges from the Supreme Court or High Court. We should not be divided on this issue,” the Union Minister said.
The centre is working to form a committee to probe allegations levelled against Justice Yashwant Verma, government sources said on July 23.
This comes after Rijiju stated that signatures of over 100 MPs have been collected for the impeachment process against Justice Verma, who is currently under scrutiny following the discovery of burnt cash at his residence.
“The signature (collection) is underway, and it has crossed 100 already,” Rijiju said while responding to a question about the status of the requisite signatures of MPs for the impeachment exercise against Justice Verma.
When asked about whether the Parliament will take up the issue in this monsoon session scheduled to start on July 21, the Union Minister said, “In the Justice Varma case, the process will be undertaken together by all parties. This is not the move by the government alone.”
“I can’t comment on any business in terms of priority until and unless the matter is passed by the BAC (Business Advisory Committee) with the approval of the chair. It is difficult to make an announcement outside,” he added.
On July 21, Members of Parliament submitted a memorandum to the Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla to remove High Court Justice Yashwant Varma in connection with the cash discovery row.
A total of 145 Lok Sabha members signed the impeachment motion against Justice Varma under Articles 124, 217, and 218 of the Constitution.MPs from various parties, including the Congress, TDP, JDU, JDS, Jan Sena Party, AGP, SS (Shinde), LJSP, SKP, and CPM, signed the memorandum.
Notable signatories include MPs Anurag Singh Thakur, Ravi Shankar Prasad, Leader of the Opposition Rahul Gandhi, Rajiv Pratap Rudy, PP Chaudhary, Supriya Sule, KC Venugopal, and others.
Earlier, the sources had informed about the formation of a committee that is likely to include a judge of the Supreme Court, a chief justice from any of the High Courts and a distinguished jurist.
The notices for the removal of Justice Varma were given on the first day of the monsoon session of Parliament.
