NEW DELHI: The Union government has begun collecting signatures of MPs to move a motion in Parliament seeking the removal of Allahabad High Court Justice Yashwant Varma, who is facing corruption allegations following the discovery of burnt cash at his official residence in Delhi.Sources said that signatures of several Lok Sabha MPs had already been secured, suggesting the motion may be introduced in the Lower House. For the Lok Sabha, a minimum of 100 MP signatures are required to move such a motion; in the Rajya Sabha, support from at least 50 MPs is needed.Recently, Union Minister for Parliamentary Affairs Kiren Rijiju said the main opposition parties had given their in-principle approval to support the motion during the upcoming monsoon session, scheduled from July 21 to August 21. The minister also stated that the process of collecting signatures could begin soon.However, Rijiu added that the government was yet to decide whether the motion would be introduced in the Lok Sabha or the Rajya Sabha.After the government indicated it would move forward with the impeachment motion against Justice Varma, the Congress said it had decided to support and sign the notice.Sources in the party said the leadership had instructed its Lok Sabha floor managers to select MPs to sign the motion.As the government seeks multi-party backing for the impeachment motion, Congress leaders earlier urged Justice Varma to resign ahead of formal proceedings. Last month, party MP and senior advocate Abhishek Singhvi advised him to step down to avoid an undignified constitutional ouster. Congress Whip in the Lok Sabha, Manickam Tagore, expressed similar sentiments, underlining the need to uphold the judiciary’s sanctity.Notably, a fire incident at Justice Varma’s residence in the national capital in March—when he was serving as a judge at the Delhi High Court—led to the discovery of several burnt sacks of banknotes in the outhouse. He was subsequently repatriated to the Allahabad High Court, and an in-house probe ordered by then-Supreme Court Chief Justice Sanjeev Khanna later indicted him.Though the judge claimed ignorance of the cash, the committee appointed by the apex court found him culpable after interviewing witnesses and recording his statement. After Justice Varma declined to resign, CJI Khanna referred the matter to the president and the prime pinister.
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