Supreme Court dismisses Justice Yashwant Varma's plea against formation of Lok Sabha panel to probe misconduct charges

Court holds that the Speaker committed no illegality in forming the panel, even as a similar plea was rejected the Rajya Sabha Deputy Chairman; Justice Varma has been transferred from Delhi HC to Allahabad HC and divested of any judicial work

New Delhi: The Supreme Court on Friday dismissed a plea filed by Allahabad High Court's judge Justice Yashwant Varma challenging validity of the Lok Sabha Speaker's decision to form a panel to probe charges of misconduct against him, in connection with alleged recovery of cash at his official residence during a fire incident in March 2025.

A bench of Justices Dipankar Datta and Satish Chandra Sharma rejected the writ petition by Justice Varma, who was transferred from the Delhi High Court to the Allahabad High Court, his parent High Court, and divested of any judicial work.

The court held that the Speaker committed no illegality in forming the panel, even as a similar plea was rejected the Rajya Sabha Deputy Chairman. 

The court declared that Justice Varma was not entitled to any relief. 

The court, on January 8, reserved its judgment, after hearing senior advocates Mukul Rohatgi and Sidharth Luthra for Justice Varma and Solicitor General Tushar Mehta, representing both houses of Parliament.

The court had earlier observed that there was no bar under the Judges Inquiry Act on Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla setting up an inquiry committee to probe corruption charges against Varma after a similar motion was rejected in the Rajya Sabha.

The court, on December 16, 2025, issued notice on Justice Varma's plea challenging the constitution of an inquiry committee by the Lok Sabha Speaker to probe corruption charges against him. 

The inquiry committee set up by the Speaker comprised Supreme Court judge Aravind Kumar, Madras High Court Chief Justice Manindra Mohan Shrivastava, and senior advocate from Karnataka B V Acharya.

Justice Varma assailed the Lok Sabha Speaker's decision in unilaterally constituting a committee under Section 3(2) of the Judges (Inquiry) Act, 1968, for making an investigation into the grounds on which the petitioner's removal as a judge of the High Court has been sought, as being violative of Article 14 of the Constitution.

A three-member judges' inquiry panel, formed by the Supreme Court earlier, found substance in allegations of presence piles of burnt and unburnt cash at the residence of Justice Varma in March 2025, after examining more than 55 witnesses. The panel indicted Justice Varma for his misconduct, resulting in recommendation for his removal.