NEW DELHI: Prominent opposition parties have agreed in principle to support a motion seeking the removal of Allahabad high court judge Justice Yashwant Varma, Union minister Kiren Rijiju said on Thursday. The process of collecting signatures from MPs to initiate the motion could begin shortly, he added.The govt is yet to decide whether the motion will be tabled in Lok Sabha or Rajya Sabha. For the lower House, at least 100 MPs must endorse the proposal, while in the upper House, support from 50 MPs is required. Rijiju said the signatures will be gathered once a decision is taken on which House will take up the motion.The monsoon session of Parliament is scheduled from July 21 to Aug 21. Under the Judges (Inquiry) Act, 1968, once a motion for removal is admitted in either House, the presiding officer constitutes a three-member committee to examine the allegations. The panel comprises the Chief Justice of India (or a Supreme Court judge), a chief justice of a high court, and a distinguished jurist.The move comes months after a fire at Justice Varma’s official residence led to discovery of sacks stuffed with charred cash in the outhouse. Though Justice Varma denied knowledge of the money, an SC-appointed panel found evidence against him after recording witness statements and his own deposition.Justice Varma, then serving in Delhi HC, was sent back to Allahabad HC, where he has not been assigned judicial work. Sources said former CJI Sanjiv Khanna had urged him to resign, but Justice Varma refused. The CJI subsequently wrote to the President and the prime minister, recommending his removal – the first step in the constitutional process for sacking a judge.
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