The 3-member panel that holds the key to Justice Yashwant Varma's fate

Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla today announced that a three-member committee has been constituted to investigate the discovery of cash at Justice Yashwant Varma’s residence in Delhi in March this year.

The decision was taken under the Judges (Inquiry) Act, 1986 as part of a formal process to remove Justice Varma from judgeship. The development follows his indictment in a preliminary probe by an in-house committee of High Court judges.

Chief Justice of India Sanjiv Khanna had subsequently recommended Justice Varma’s removal, following which the government moved a motion in Parliament to initiate the formal process of impeachment.

Under the Judges (Inquiry) Act, the Chairman of the Rajya Sabha or the Speaker of the Lok Sabha, on receiving a valid impeachment notice against a judge, must constitute a committee of judges and a jurist to probe the allegations.

We take a look at the three members set to probe the allegations against Justice Varma.

Justice Kumar studied law from Bangalore University and enrolled as an advocate in the year 1987. He started practising before civil and magistrates courts, before shifting his practice to the Karnataka High Court in 1990.

He held the post of Assistant Solicitor General of India and acted as Special Public Prosecutor for the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI).

He was elevated as an additional judge of the Karnataka High Court in 2009 and became a permanent judge in 2012. In 2021, he was made Chief Justice of the Gujarat High Court, where he introduced measures such as “signal schools” for underprivileged children and “justice clocks” to monitor case pendency.

Justice Kumar took oath as a Supreme Court judge on February 13, 2023 and will retire in July 2027. 

Justice Shrivastava was born on March 6, 1964 to a family of educators and lawyers. He earned B.Sc. and LL.B. degrees with a gold medal from KR Law College in Bilaspur.

He enrolled with the Madhya Pradesh Bar Council in October 1987 and began practising in Raigarh. He also appeared before the High Courts of Madhya Pradesh and Chhattisgarh. 

He was designated a Senior Advocate in 2005 and was elevated to the Bench in December 2009 as a judge of the Chhattisgarh High Court. In October 2021, he was transferred to the Rajasthan High Court, serving successively as judge, Acting Chief Justice and, ultimately, Chief Justice from February 2024.

On July 21, 2025, Justice Shrivastava assumed office as the 54th Chief Justice of the Madras High Court. 

Acharya was born in Belpu village of Udupi district. He enrolled as an advocate before the High Court of Mysore on August 29, 1957 and began his practice in Mangalore before moving to the Karnataka High Court in 1972. 

He was Chairman of the Karnataka State Bar Council from 1979 to 1982 and was designated a Senior Advocate in May 1989. He served five terms as Advocate General of Karnataka between 1989 and 2012. In 2005, he was appointed Special Public Prosecutor in the disproportionate assets case against former Tamil Nadu Chief Minister J Jayalalithaa.  

Acharya also served on the 19th Law Commission of India between 2010 and 2012 and has been President of the Karnataka section of the International Commission of Jurists since 2019.

At 92 years of age, he will be the oldest member of the committee.