All parties on board in Justice Varma impeachment move, corruption in judiciary “serious” :Govt

New Delhi: All political parties are on board on the move to impeach Justice Yashwant Varma, from whose residence here burnt wads of currency notes were found, the government said on Friday, paving the way for a motion on this matter during the upcoming Monsoon session of Parliament.
A fire incident at Justice Varma’s Delhi residence in March this year, when he was a judge of the Delhi High Court, had led to the discovery of sacks of half-burnt cash in the outhouse.
Justice Varma was subsequently repatriated to the Allahabad High Court but no judicial work was assigned to him. An in-house probe ordered by then Chief Justice of India Sanjiv Khanna has indicted the judge.
Whie Parliamentary Affairs Minister Kiren Rijiju said he was coordinating with leaders of different parties on the motion to ensure that a unified stand of the Parliament comes out, the Congress, the principal opposition party, has said all its MPs will support the motion against Justice Varma. Rijiju also said there should not be any politics over the impeachment move. The Monsoon session of Parliament is scheduled to start from July 21.
Rijiju said when it comes to corruption in the judiciary, “we have to stand together. There cannot be any partisan attitude and it should not be made a political issue.”
The minister asserted that it is not the government but members of Parliament cutting across party lines, including from the Congress, who are in favour of moving a motion to remove Justice Varma. He was happy that the Congress has understood the severity of the issue, as no party can be seen standing in support of a “corrupt” judge.
Law Minister Arjun Ram Meghwal said bringing an impeachment motion in Parliament is entirely a matter of the MPs and the government is nowhere in the picture.