Cash discovery row: Sibal says govt's intention is to take control of judges' appointments

New Delhi: Rajya Sabha MP Kapil Sibal on Tuesday claimed that the government is moving ahead with an impeachment motion against Justice Yashwant Varma without carrying out any inquiry and that it is being done to take control of appointment of judges by bringing in the National Judicial Appointments Commission (NJAC).

Claiming that the government intends to do away with the collegium system, Sibal alleged that the government of having a selective approach in handling the cases of Justice Varma on corruption charges and Justice Shekhar Yadav against whom the Opposition has submitted an impeachment notice for "communal" remarks he made last year.

"It is shocking that the government is targeting a judge against whom there is no evidence and you are protecting a judge against whom there is no evidence required because his statement is in the public domain and there is an impeachment motion pending before the Chairman and he has been sitting on it for verification of signatures," he told reporters.

He said he can say "with utmost responsibility" that Justice Varma is one of the finest judges that he has argued before and there is "not a whiff of any wrongdoing" by this judge.

A fire incident at Varma's official residence in Delhi in March had led to the discovery of several burnt sacks of cash at the outhouse, prompting the plans to impeach the judge.

"You took a decision against a High Court judge without any inquiry and procedure. The judge was not even heard. This is absolutely shocking. Unfortunately, the political class is brought into the act...For all impeachments in the past, the case here is entirely different," he said adding the intention of the government is to finish the collegium system and to take control of the appointment of judges.

Referring to Parliamentary Affairs Minister Kiren Rijiju reaching out to the Opposition seeking support for impeaching Justice Varma, he said it is to put the Supreme Court's in-house inquiry report in Justice Varma's case in the public domain.

"For what? Why are you protecting Shekhar Yadav?...Why isn't the Opposition not realising that the game plan is to take away the power to appoint judges from the Collegium and give it to the NJAC...That is the whole purpose of this exercise," he said.

Last week, Sibal had found fault with Rajya Sabha Chairman Jagdeep Dhankhar for not taking action on an impeachment notice against Justice Yadav for his “entirely communal” remarks even after six months while accusing the government of attempting to save him.