New Delhi [India], February 26 (HBTV): Om Birla has reconstituted the three-member inquiry committee tasked with examining the grounds for the removal of Justice Yashwant Varma.
The reconstituted panel will come into effect from March 6, 2026, according to an official Lok Sabha notification.
The committee was originally constituted in March last year following demands for Justice Varma’s removal after bundles of partially burnt cash were allegedly discovered at his residence, triggering widespread concern and calls for an inquiry.
As per the notification, the reconstituted committee comprises Justice Arvind Kumar, Judge of the Supreme Court of India; Justice Chandrashekhar, Chief Justice of the Bombay High Court; and B V Acharya, Senior Advocate of the Karnataka High Court.
Justice Arvind Kumar and B V Acharya were members of the previous panel, while Justice Chandrashekhar has been inducted as a new member, replacing Manindra Mohan Shrivastava, Chief Justice of the Madras High Court.
The panel will continue examining the allegations and circumstances that led to demands for Justice Varma’s removal. The committee is expected to review the evidence and submit its findings as part of the prescribed parliamentary process.
The case pertains to the recovery of unaccounted and partially burnt cash from the official residence of Justice Varma, then a sitting judge of the Delhi High Court. Following an internal inquiry, former Chief Justice of India Sanjiv Khanna forwarded a recommendation to the President and the Prime Minister to initiate the procedure for his removal.
Subsequently, on July 21, 2025, a motion was moved in both Houses of Parliament seeking Justice Varma’s removal. On August 12, 2025, the Lok Sabha Speaker formed a three-member Inquiry Committee after receiving a notice of motion signed by 146 Members of Parliament.
(ANI)