Centre seeks consensus over impeachment motion on Justice Varma

New Delhi: The government is moving ahead with its attempt to impeach Allahabad High Court judge Yashwant Varma with Union Parliamentary Affairs Minister Kiren Rijiju on Thursday saying that prominent Opposition parties have given their in-principle approval to support a motion.

Rijiju said the process of collecting signatures of MPs is likely to start soon, after the government decides on whether the motion would be brought in the Lok Sabha or Rajya Sabha.

For Lok Sabha, at least 100 MPs need to endorse the notice for moving a motion while in Rajya Sabha, such a notice needs signatures of 50 MPs.

The Monsoon session will commence from July 21 and end on August 21. After the motion is accepted, the presiding officer of the House in which the motion is brought will set up a three-member committee to examine the  on which the removal has been sought.

"I have spoken to prominent opposition parties. They have  in principle agreed. We will follow the laid down procedure. The government wants matters related to the judiciary to be beyond partisan lines. There should be consensus and unified stand," Rijiju said.

Earlier, there was a view in the government that there was no need for a separate inquiry report as a Supreme Court appointed panel had looked into the allegations. 

Asked about the report of the in-house committee which proved the cash discovery incident at Justice Varma's official residence here, Rijiju said the report of the three-judge panel had not indicted the judge.

It was meant to recommend future course of action and not a probe in an impeachment motion prescribed in law.

The Judges (Inquiry) Act of 1968 mandates a three-member committee to investigate the grounds on which the removal and the panel consists of the Chief Justice of India (CJI) or a Supreme Court judge, the chief justice of one of the 25 high courts and a "distinguished jurist.