New Delhi, 12 Aug

Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla on Tuesday constituted a three-member committee to probe charges against Justice Yashwant Varma after admitting a multi-party notice for his removal, setting in motion the process of impeachment of the Allahabad High Court judge.

The inquiry committee comprises Supreme Court judge Justice Aravind Kumar, Madras High Court Chief Justice Manindra Mohan Shrivastava and senior Karnataka High Court advocate BV Acharya.

"The committee will submit its report as early as possible. The proposal (for removal of Justice Varma) will remain pending till the receipt of the report of the inquiry committee," Birla said.

Birla said he had received a proposal from 146 Lok Sabha members, including Ravi Shankar Prasad and Leader of Opposition Rahul Gandhi, seeking removal of Justice Varma on 21 July.

Justice Varma was repatriated from the Delhi High Court to the Allahabad High Court after burnt wads of currency notes were found at his official residence here on 14 March.

After referring to relevant laws and judgements of the Supreme Court, the Delhi High Court Chief Justice found the charges against Justice Varma were of serious nature and followed it up with the "in-house procedure".

Birla said unblemished character and financial and intellectual integrity were the foundation of the trust a common person has in the judiciary.

"The facts connected in the present case point towards corruption and are eligible for action as per Article 124, Article 217 and Article 218 of the Constitution of India. Parliament needs to speak in one voice on this issue and every citizen of this country should send a clear message about its commitment to zero tolerance to corruption," Birla said.

Earlier, then Chief Justice of India Sanjiv Khanna had initiated an in-house probe into the allegations and set up the three-member committee in March to conduct the inquiry.

After receiving the report on 4 May, the CJI asked Justice Varma to resign or face impeachment proceedings.

However, since Justice Varma declined to quit, CJI Khanna forwarded the report and the judge's response on it to the president and the prime minister for removal of the judge.

Last week, the Supreme Court dismissed Justice Varma's plea against CJI Khanna's recommendation for his removal.