CJI Misra forms five-judge bench to hear Congress plea

NEW DELHI: Supreme Court Chief Justice Dipak Misra on Monday set up a five-judge bench to hear a petition filed by two Congress MPs challenging vice-president Venkaiah Naidu's decision to reject a motion filed by the party to remove Misra as the chief justice.

Justices AK Sikri, SA Bobde, NV Ramana, Arun Mishra and AK Goel will hear the petition on Tuesday. The bench does not have the five senior-most judges of the court, including CJI Misra.

The bench does not include the five senior-most judges of the Supreme Court — Justices Jasti Chelameshwar, Ranjan Gogoi, Madan Lokur and Kurian Joseph, and Chief Justice Misra himself.

The Congress has challenged in the Supreme Court the rejection of its impeachment move against Chief Justice of India Dipak Misra.

The decision of Vice President Venkaiah Naidu is "illegal and arbitrary", says a petition by two Congress parliamentarians.

"None of the reasons given by the Chairman (Venkaiah Naidu)... carry any weight or are legally tenable. It deserves to be set aside for being wholly extraneous and ultra vires to the provisions of the constitution and the Inquiry Act," says the petition.

Last month, a petition signed by over 60 parliamentarians called for Justice Misra's impeachment six months before he retires. The motion "doesn't deserve to be admitted", Naidu said, just three days later.

Congress MPs Pratap Singh Bajwa and Amee Yagnik, in a plea on Monday, argued that once a removal motion signed by MPs is submitted to the Rajya Sabha chairman, he has no option but to constitute an inquiry committee to look into the charges.