SC rejects Justice Varma's request for more time to submit response to panel

New Delhi: The Supreme Court Thursday turned down a request from Allahabad High Court Judge Yashwant Varma, seeking more time to file his response to a parliamentary committee formed to probe allegations of corruption against him.

A division bench comprising Justices Dipankar Datta and SC Sharma also completed the hearing on Varma's plea for quashing the Lok Sabha speaker's decision to constitute the three-member committee under the Judges (Inquiry) Act for his impeachment, and reserved its judgement. The committee had sought Justice Varma's response in November 2025. The deadline given for this written response was extended once to January 12. "You give your response," Justice Datta verbally told Justice Varma's counsel, refusing to extend the deadline. The chief contention of Justice Varma against the constitution of the inquiry committee is that despite impeachment notices being moved in both Houses of Parliament, Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla proceeded to constitute the committee unilaterally without awaiting the Rajya Sabha chairman's decision or holding the mandatory joint consultation prescribed by law. The Rajya Sabha chairman's position was vacant at the time, after the abrupt resignation of Jagdeep Dhankhar.

Bundles of burnt banknotes had allegedly been recovered from an outhouse of Justice Varma's residence in Delhi after a fire incident in March last year.