Unaccounted cash row: LS Speaker rejigs panel probing charges against Justice Yashwant Varma

New Delhi: Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla on Wednesday reconstituted the three-member committee examining the grounds for the removal of Justice Yashwant Varma, following the recovery of burnt bundles of cash from his official residence in March last year.

The committee had originally been formed on August 12 after the Speaker admitted a multi-party notice seeking the removal of the Allahabad High Court judge, thereby initiating the impeachment process.

According to a notification issued by Lok Sabha Secretary General Utpal Kumar Singh, “In partial modification of the Notification ... the Speaker, Lok Sabha, has reconstituted with effect from the 6th March, 2026, for the purpose of making an investigation into the grounds on which the removal of Justice Yashwant Varma of the Allahabad High Court is prayed for, a Committee consisting of the following three Members:- 1 Hon'ble Justice Aravind Kumar, Supreme Court of India; 2 Hon'ble Justice Shree Chandrashekhar, Chief Justice of the Bombay High Court; and 3. Shri B V Acharya, Senior Advocate, Karnataka High Court.”

While Justice Aravind Kumar and senior advocate B V Acharya continue as members of the panel, Justice Shree Chandrashekhar has been newly inducted. He replaces Madras High Court Chief Justice Manindra Mohan Shrivastava on the reconstituted committee.

The panel is tasked with investigating the allegations that form the basis of the impeachment motion against Justice Varma.

PTI