Oppn submits notice for CJI impeachment to VP
21 April 2018 5:35 AM IST
NEW DELHI: After months of procrastination, in an unprecedented step, Congress and six other opposition parties on Friday moved a notice for the impeachment of Chief Justice of India Dipak Misra, accusing him of five counts of "misbehaviour" and "misusing" authority.
The opposition parties met Vice President and Rajya Sabha chairman M Venkaiah Naidu and handed over a notice for the impeachment of the Chief Justice of India (CJI) with signatures of 64 MPs of the Upper House.
No Chief Justice has ever been impeached in India and any decision on the notice by the Opposition parties against the CJI is likely to be taken by the Vice President following legal consultations.
The impeachment notice comes a day after the Supreme Court rejected a bunch of petitions seeking an independent probe into the death of Judge B H Loya, who was hearing the Sohrabuddin Sheikh encounter case.
Listing five allegations of "misbehaviour" against Misra, Congress leader Kapil Sibal, at a press conference, said the notice of the impeachment of the CJI had been moved with a heavy heart.
"As representatives of the people, we are entitled to hold the Chief Justice accountable, just as we are accountable to the people. The majesty of the law is more important than the majesty of any office," he said.
The opposition parties also demanded a probe against the CJI.
While the notice for impeachment bears 71 signatures, Leader of Opposition in the Rajya Sabha Ghulam Nabi Azad said they had requested the chairman to exclude the names of seven of them as they have retired from the Upper House. Former Prime Minister Manmohan Singh's signature is not on the impeachment motion. "We didn't involve Manmohan Singh intentionally as he is an ex-PM," said Congress leader Kapil Sibal.
The MPs who signed the notice belong to the Congress, the NCP, the CPI-M and CPI, the SP, the BSP and the Indian Union Muslim League (IUML).
Sources say the opposition is divided on this; parties like the Trinamool Congress, DMK and Lalu Yadav's RJD are against impeachment.
Legal luminary and former Attorney General Soli Sorabjee said impeachment could only be on the grounds of misbehaviour. "One cannot bring an impeachment motion against a judge because you think he has given a wrong judgment," he said. The Supreme Court on Friday expressed concern over politicians making allegations against members of the judiciary in media and giving statements to initiate impeachment motion against CJI.
Union finance minister Arun Jaitley on Friday said that the recent petition by Congress to impeach Supreme Court Chief Justice Dipak Misra is being used as a "political tool" to intimidate judges hearing controversial matters. See P5
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