Supreme Court To Examine Justice Yashwant Varma’s Challenge To Speaker-Led Inquiry Panel

The Supreme Court has agreed to examine a petition filed by Allahabad High Court judge Justice Yashwant Varma. The petition challenges the decision of Lok Sabha SpeakerLok Sabha SpeakerLok Sabha Speaker Om Birla to “unilaterally" constitute a three-member inquiry committee under the Judges (Inquiry) Act, 1968, to investigate allegations of corruption against him.

A bench led by Justice Dipankar Datta issued notices to the Lok Sabha Speaker’s office, the Lok Sabha Secretariat, and the Secretaries-General of both the Lok Sabha and the Rajya Sabha. The court’s intervention follows a “procedural lapse" flagged by senior advocate Mukul Rohatgi, appearing for the judge, who argued that the Speaker overstepped his statutory authority.

The crux of the legal challenge rests on Section 3(2) of the Judges (Inquiry) Act. Justice Varma contends that since motions for his removal were submitted in both Houses of Parliament on the same day (July 21, 2025), the law mandates a joint consultation between the Speaker of the Lok Sabha and the Chairman of the Rajya Sabha.