New Delhi, July 4 -- Union parliamentary affairs minister Kiren Rijiju on Thursday said the government will reach out to opposition parties to seek signatures of lawmakers in both Houses of Parliament to initiate the process of justice Yashwant Verma's removal in the monsoon session that begins July 21. The minister said once the motion of removal with the requisite signatures is tabled in either House, the chair will constitute a committee to examine the charges of corruption against the sitting high court judge, which have been corroborated by a Supreme Court appointed committee. "I have spoken to prominent opposition parties who have in principle agreed for his removal. We will follow the laid down procedure (for the process).The government wants matters related to judiciary to be beyond political lines and there should be consensus ," he added. We will start the process of seeking signatures for the motion of removal. Once that is done, we will decide which house to submit it in," Rijiju said. For the removal of a sitting judge, the motion requires the signatures of 100 MPs in the Lok Sabha and 50 in the Rajya Sabha. The minister explained that the presiding officer of the house in which the motion is moved, will then set up a committee as per the required procedure. Over the past few weeks, the theory in Delhi has been that Parliament could consider going with the report of the SC-appointed committee, but the minister clarified that the report of that in-house probe committee cannot be tabled in Parliament. "The earlier report was to see if it is a fit case for recommending it to the government. It was a preliminary one," Rijiju said. As per the Judges (Inquiry) Act of 1968, once a motion to remove a judge is admitted in any of the houses, the Speaker of the Lok Sabha or the chairman of the Rajya Sabha, as the case may be, will constitute a three-member committee to investigate the grounds on which the removal has been sought. The committee will comprise the chief justice of India (CJI) or a Supreme Court judge, the chief justice of one of the 25 high courts and a distinguished jurist. Listing the process for the removal of justice Verma, Rijiju said the report of the committee constituted by the chairman or the Speaker as the case may be, will be tabled in Parliament and on that basis the discussion will start. Another person aware of the details said the government is exploring ways to expedite the process, including reducing the standard three month tenure of the committee. The government has clearly stated that it intends to bring a motion for the removal of justice Verma from whose official residence currency was recovered during a fire in March this year. The controversy began on March 14 when a fire broke out at the outhouse of justice Varma's official residence in Delhi. Firefighters reportedly found charred currency notes stuffed in sacks. The chief justice of the Delhi High Court flagged the matter to then CJI Khanna, who constituted a three-judge inquiry committee on March 22 comprising Justices Sheel Nagu (then Punjab & Haryana Chief Justice), GS Sandhawalia (then Himachal Pradesh Chief Justice), and Anu Sivaraman (Karnataka High Court). The panel submitted its report on May 3, concluding that justice Varma was liable for misconduct. On May 8, the Supreme Court issued a press release stating that justice Varma had submitted his response but had reiterated his earlier stand and denied wrongdoing, calling the incident a "conspiracy." Justice Varma was subsequently divested of judicial work and transferred to his parent high court in Allahabad. A letter by justice Khanna was also sent to the President and Prime Minister, enclosing the inquiry report and requesting action. Meanwhile, opposition parties are also pushing for the removal of another sitting judge justice Shekhar Yadav of the Allahabad HC, but the government has sought to delink the two cases "The case of Justice Yadav is not similar to that of Justice Verma. in the latter's case it is case of corruption involving the judiciary. It is above party politics." said the second person quoted above. The motion for justice Yadav's removal on ground of having made a hate speech at a function organised by the Vishwa Hindu Parishad is pending with the Rajya Sabha chairman. More than 50 MPs have signed the petition for his removal and the chairman, Jagdeep Dhankhar is expected to announce a ruling soon people aware of the issue said....