Dhankhar’s resignation linked to Justice Varma? How VP’s action holds key to impeachment motion

Jagdeep Dhankhar's resignation came on the evening of the first day of the Monsoon Session of Parliament on July 21.

Vice-President Jagdeep Dhankhar’s sudden resignation has been attributed to his decision to initiate an Opposition-sponsored impeachment notice against Justice Yashwant Varma over the alleged cash-at-home row.

Dhankhar's resignation came on the evening of the first day of the Monsoon Session of Parliament on July 21.

On the same afternoon, Congress general secretary Jairam Ramesh, a Rajya Sabha MP, announced on social media: “Today 63 Rajya Sabha MPs belonging to various Opposition parties submitted a notice of motion to the Chairman, Rajya Sabha, for the removal of Justice Yashwant Varma under the Judges Inquiry Act, 1968. A similar motion for the removal of Justice Shekhar Yadav had been submitted to the Chairman, Rajya Sabha, way back on Dec 13, 2024.”

Dhankhar announced in Rajya Sabha that he has accepted the Opposition’s motion. However, Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla had not informed the House about a similar notice moved by 145 MPs from the Treasury benches.

According to reports, Dhankhar taking up the Opposition-sponsored impeachment notice against Justice Varma from the Opposition as Chairperson of the Rajya Sabha did not sit well with the government. The Centre apparently wanted it to be initiated in the Lok Sabha first.

Whether the notice for the motion of removal Varma was "admitted" or only “submitted” would be a determining factor in deciding whether the Rajya Sabha would have a role in picking three members of the investigation panel, which, under the Constitution, would examine the charges against Justice Varma.

What is submission of motion?

A notice for the removal of a judge must be signed by not less than 100 members in the Lok Sabha and 50 in the Rajya Sabha, as per the Judges Inquiry Act, 1968.

Once the MPs submit the motion, the presiding officer of the House can either accept or reject it. If accepted, a three-member committee, comprising two judges and a jurist, will be constituted to determine if it is a case fit for initiating the process of impeachment.

 What did Jagdeep Dhankhar say?

Dhankhar said that he had received a notice of motion under Article 217 (1B) and Article 124, sub-article 4 of the Constitution, along with section 31B of Judges (Inquiry) Act, 1968, to constitute a committee for removal of Justice Varma.

“It has been signed by more than 50 members of the Council of States, and thus it meets the numerical requirement of signing by members of Parliament for setting in motion the process for removal of a high court judge,” he said.

After Union Law Minister Arjun Ram Meghwal said over 100 members had submitted a motion in Lok Sabha, Dhankhar said that the relevant sections of (Judges Inquiry Act) will come into effect and the Secretary General will take necessary steps in this direction. He also said the motion signed by 63 members “meets the numerical requirement of setting in motion a process for the removal of an HC judge”.

According to the Judges Inquiry Act, if notices of motion are submitted for the removal of a judge on the same day in both Houses of Parliament, no committee shall be constituted unless the motion has been admitted in both Houses.

Why is the government upset?

Sources told Times of India that the Centre had already announced its decision that the process should start in Lok Sabha and had taken the first step by getting 145 MPs from all parties to sign the notice. It was submitted to LS Speaker Om Birla on Monday morning.

According to sources, the final call on the issue will now be that of the deputy chairperson, Harivansh. He is now the officiating chairman after President Droupadi Murmu accepted Dhankhar’s resignation.

“There is no certainty he would endorse what Dhankhar observed,” said a source. “In any case, he has no special interest in matters concerning the judiciary and is unlikely to diverge drastically from the speaker in the choice of the members of the inquiry panel,” sources told TOI.