THE SUPREME COURT TODAY reserved its judgment on the plea by Justice Yashwant Varma—a sitting judge of the Allahabad High Court—seeking the quashing of the in-house committee’s report and the May 8 communication from the then Chief Justice of India, Justice Sanjiv Khanna, to the President Droupadi Murmu and the Prime Minister Narendra Modi, recommending his removal over the alleged recovery of a large sum of unaccounted cash from his official residence in Delhi.
During the hearing, Justice Dipankar Datta, heading the bench also comprising Justice Augustine George Masih, remarked that “Your conduct does not inspire confidence,” signalling scepticism toward Justice Varma’s challenge.
The Bench drew a distinction between the Chief Justice’s recommendation for removal and the actual process of removal itself, emphasising that the Chief Justice is not merely a conduit. “He is not a post office. If the Chief Justice has material indicating misconduct, he has a duty towards the nation to inform the President and Prime Minister,” Justice Datta remarked.
In the course of the hearing, there were hints that the Court might not interfere in the matter as the removal of Justice Varma is under consideration of the Parliament.
