Historic Showdown! 145 MPs Move to Impeach Justice Yashwant Verma in Cash Scandal
New Delhi(The Uttam Hindu): The impeachment process against Justice Yashwant Verma, accused in the high-profile cash scandal, has intensified dramatically. On Monday, in an unprecedented political move, 145 Members of Parliament from both the ruling coalition and the opposition submitted a signed letter to Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla, demanding the initiation of impeachment proceedings. A similar letter was also handed over to Rajya Sabha Chairman Jagdeep Dhankhar. This move has created a tense constitutional situation, bringing the judiciary and the legislature into potential direct conflict.
Around 2 PM, leaders from various political parties met the Lok Sabha Speaker and formally presented the signed motion. With this step, the demand for Justice Verma’s removal has officially been placed before Parliament. The most striking aspect of this development is the rare unity displayed across party lines. Senior BJP leaders like Anurag Thakur, Ravi Shankar Prasad, Rajiv Pratap Rudy, and PP Chaudhary lent their signatures, while Congress leaders Rahul Gandhi and KC Venugopal, along with NCP-SP’s Supriya Sule and MPs from TDP, JD(U), JD(S), Jana Sena Party, Shiv Sena, and CPM also supported the move.
A day earlier, Parliamentary Affairs Minister Kiren Rijiju had indicated that more than 100 MPs had already signed the motion, emphasizing that the move was not limited to any one party or government but was a collective decision with cross-party agreement.
Meanwhile, Justice Verma has moved the Supreme Court challenging the impeachment process. In his petition, he questioned the legality of the in-house committee report on which the entire action is based. He argued that the in-house panel does not have the authority to recommend impeachment and further claimed that no formal complaint was filed against him. Verma also stated that during the inquiry process, he was not given any opportunity to present his defense.
This clash has now sparked an intense legal and constitutional debate over the scope of Parliament’s powers and the independence of the judiciary. Experts say the situation could evolve into a historic test of India’s democratic framework, as both the judiciary and the legislature assert their authority.