Justice Yashwant Verma of the Allahabad High Court has submitted his resignation to President Droupadi Murmu

Justice Yashwant Verma of the Allahabad High Court has submitted his resignation to President Droupadi Murmu

Justice Yashwant Verma of the Allahabad High Court has submitted his resignation to President Droupadi Murmu. This resignation was tendered at a critical juncture when parliamentary proceedings for his removal were already underway. In independent India, this marks the third instance where a High Court judge has resigned midway to avoid the conclusion of impeachment-related proceedings. Each such resignation has exposed a singular constitutional lacuna, for which no legislative remedy has yet been devised. Although the term 'impeachment' is not explicitly used in the Constitution, it is colloquially employed to refer to the proceedings undertaken under Article 124 for the removal of a Supreme Court judge.

Notable Impeachment Attempts in India

¨  Justice V. Ramaswami (1993): The first Supreme Court judge to face impeachment proceedings. An inquiry committee found him guilty of financial misappropriation; however, the motion failed in the Lok Sabha due to abstentions during the vote.

¨   Justice Soumitra Sen (2011): Accused of misappropriation of funds. The Rajya Sabha passed the motion for his removal, but he resigned before the matter could be taken up for consideration in the Lok Sabha. Since independence, no judge in India has ever been successfully impeached.

Background and Chronology

¨   Sequence of Events and Initial Developments: Sacks containing large quantities of burnt currency notes were recovered during a firefighting operation at Justice Verma's official residence in Delhi. This incident occurred while he was serving as a judge at the Delhi High Court.

¨    He denied ownership of these sacks and described the storeroom in question merely as a general 'dumping area.' Subsequently, he was transferred to the Allahabad High Court.

¨   Internal Inquiry by the Judiciary: The then Chief Justice of India (CJI), Sanjiv Khanna, constituted a three-member internal committee. This committee comprised Justice Sheel Nagu, Justice G.S. Sandhawalia, and Justice Anu Sivaraman. The committee's 64-page report found "strong circumstantial evidence" indicating his "tacit or active control" over the storeroom. Based on this report, the committee recommended his removal from office. ...had recommended that proceedings be initiated.

¨     Judicial and Constitutional Process: After Justice Verma refused to resign (during the initial stage), the Chief Justice of India (CJI) recommended to the President and the Prime Minister that he be removed from office. Justice Verma challenged the 'internal procedure' of the judiciary in the Supreme Court. The Supreme Court dismissed his petition, stating that "the Chief Justice of India does not function merely as a 'post office' between the Inquiry Committee and the President." Justice Verma had also challenged the decision of the Speaker of the Lok Sabha to accept the motion for removal, which the Court rejected.

¨     Parliamentary Inquiry: A three-member Inquiry Committee was constituted by the Speaker of the Lok Sabha, Om Birla, under the Judges (Inquiry) Act, 1968. Following the retirement of one of its members, the Committee's proceedings continued uninterrupted, albeit with a change in its composition.

How a Sitting Judge Can Be Removed From Office?

¨     The constitution provides that a judge can be removed only by an order of the president, based on a motion passed by both houses of parliament.

¨     The procedure for removal of judges is elaborated in the Judges Inquiry Act, 1968. The Act sets out the following steps for removal from office::