The Supreme Court has reserved the order on the petition of Allahabad High Court judge Justice Yashwant Verma, who is embroiled in the cash scandal. Justice Verma has termed the formation of an inquiry committee by the Lok Sabha as wrong. He says that the proposal was presented in both the houses. In such a situation, according to the Judges Inquiry Act, 1968, a joint inquiry committee should have been formed by both the houses.
In the hearing held on Wednesday, the Supreme Court had noted that the MPs in the Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha had given notice in the case of Justice Verma on the same day (July 21). The Deputy Chairman of the Rajya Sabha rejected the notice on 11 August. After this, on August 12, the Lok Sabha Speaker formed a 3-member committee under the chairmanship of Supreme Court Justice Arvind Kumar.
While hearing the case, Justices Dipankar Dutta and Satish Chandra Sharma had asked what was the mistake in forming a committee by the Lok Sabha Speaker after rejecting the proposal by the Deputy Chairman of the Rajya Sabha? Senior lawyers Mukul Rohatgi and Siddharth Luthra, appearing for Justice Yashwant Verma, argued that according to Article 91 of the Constitution, the powers of the Deputy Chairman are limited in the absence of the Chairman. He can run the House, but cannot take all the decisions that come under the jurisdiction of the Speaker.
In the hearing held on Thursday, January 8, the court asked Justice Verma’s lawyers, ‘How is the formation of a committee by one House a prejudice against you? Even if the Lok Sabha has formed a committee, the proposal will still go to both the Houses later. A judge can be removed only with the consent of both the houses.
At the end of the hearing, Justice Verma requested that the Supreme Court extend the date of his appearance before the committee constituted by the Lok Sabha. After Rohatgi and Luthra, senior lawyer Siddharth Aggarwal, who is cross-examining Justice Verma, said that Justice Verma has to give a written reply to the committee by January 12 and appears in person on January 24. Due to the pending decision in the Supreme Court, these dates should be extended for the time being. But the judges refused this. He said that these dates had been decided long ago. Justice Verma should give his written reply to the committee by January 12 as per the fixed date.
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Cash scandal: How can only Lok Sabha form an inquiry committee? SC reserves verdict on Justice Yashwant Verma’s petition
