As govt readies to impeach Justice Varma, find out how many votes it needs

The government has commenced formalities to bring an impeachment motion against Justice Yashwant Varma of the Allahabad High Court during the next session of Parliament.

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Official sources said Parliamentary Affairs Minister Kiren Rijiju had kick-started consultations with opposition parties to build consensus around the move after a Supreme Court-appointed committee indicted him in the case involving recovery of large sums of burnt currency notes from his official residence in Delhi in March this year.

Former Chief Justice of India Sanjiv Khanna later wrote to President Droupadi Murmu and Prime Minister Narendra Modi, recommending impeachment of the former Delhi High Court judge who was transferred to the Allahabad High Court.

A series of meetings were held in the capital on the issue. Law Minister Arjun Meghwal met Home Minister Amit Shah, who called on the PM. Shah and BJP chief JP Nadda later met Vice-President Jagdeep Dhankhar.

Justice Varma has refused to resign after his indictment. As per rules, an impeachment motion can be brought in the Lok Sabha or the Rajya Sabha and requires two-thirds of the MPs’ vote to pass. In the Rajya Sabha, at least 50 MPs must sign an impeachment motion and in the Lok Sabha, 100 MPs must sign.