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Nearly three months after resigning as an Allahabad High Court judge on 9 April 2026, Justice Yashwant Varma continues to be listed as a sitting judge on the Department of Justice and Allahabad High Court websites, reviving debate on judicial accountability.
Varma resigned before a Lok Sabha inquiry committee — constituted under the Judges (Inquiry) Act, 1968, after the March 2025 discovery of burnt currency notes at his official residence — could conclude its proceedings.
The Constitution gives 13 functionaries, including Supreme Court and High Court judges, the 'power to resign at will' without needing acceptance by any authority; the Supreme Court's 1978 ruling in Union of India v. Gopal Chandra Misra held such resignations take effect automatically (ex proprio vigore).
The episode exposes a gap: a judge facing removal proceedings can resign and step outside the impeachment process, while administrative records can lag behind the resignation's actual legal effect.
The President, Vice-President, Deputy Chairman of Rajya Sabha, Speaker/Deputy Speaker of Lok Sabha, SC/HC judges, Governors, State Assembly Speakers/Deputy Speakers, and Public Service Commission members may resign merely by writing under their hand — no acceptance required
By contrast, an MP's or MLA's resignation must be accepted by the Speaker/Chairman before it takes effect
Governs the constitution and procedure of parliamentary inquiry committees probing misbehaviour by a judge
For most constitutional offices, a written resignation takes legal effect the moment it is submitted — it needs no formal 'acceptance'. This exists to protect the office-holder's independence, ensuring judges and similar functionaries cannot be pressured into staying, or blocked from leaving, by any external authority. Legislators are a deliberate exception: their resignation must be accepted by the Speaker/Chairman, partly to guard against coerced or fraudulent resignations of elected members.
Simple Analogy: It's like handing in a formal notice at work versus needing your manager's sign-off to actually leave — most constitutional offices only need the former.
5-judge Constitution Bench held a judge's resignation is effective without Presidential acceptance and operates ex proprio vigore (automatically)
Resigned from the Supreme Court to join the International Court of Justice — since 2017, at least 12 High Court judges have similarly resigned
GS Paper II > Judiciary, Constitutional Bodies, Judicial Accountability
Latin for 'by its own force' — used by the Supreme Court to describe a judge's resignation taking effect automatically, without needing acceptance
The law governing the constitution and functioning of parliamentary committees that investigate allegations of misbehaviour or incapacity against a judge