By Prarthana Mitra
Led by the Indian National Congress, a motion to impeach the chief justice of India (CJI) was signed by 64 Rajya Sabha members belonging to seven political parties.
On Friday, members of Nationalist Congress Party, Bahujan Samaj Party, Communist Party of India, Communist Party of India (Marxist), Samajwadi Party and Indian Union Muslim League met vice-president and Rajya Sabha chairman M. Venkaiah Naidu and signed a notice seeking the CJIs impeachment. In the meantime, rumours of a lack of consensus also emerged after former Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and former finance minister P Chidambaram were notably absent from the list of signatories. However, Congress leaders Kapil Sibal and Ghulam Nabi Azad denied rumours of any such “division” within the party about the issue.
Here’s what happened
The opposition has clamped down on Chief Justice Dipak Misra, seeking his impeachment on grounds of corruption, nepotism and manipulation of justice. The allegations against him range from misbehaviour and bribery to abuse of administrative power in allocating cases, besides a land allotment issue in Odisha.
A more immediate trigger that prompted the demand for Misra’s impeachment might have been the Supreme Court’s (SC) verdict dismissing the demand for an investigation into the death of CBI judge BH Loya. Congress leaders at a press conference said that they felt compelled to move such a motion since Justice Misra had not asserted the independence of the judiciary in the face of interference by the executive.
We had sought an appointment with the Rajya Sabha chairman a week ago. We met him today and moved a motion for the impeachment of the Chief Justice of India. Seventy-one members of Parliament (MPs) have signed the motion, although the required number is 50 MPs. We expect positive action, said Azad, leader of the opposition in the Rajya Sabha, on Friday. Notable signatories include NCP president Sharad Pawar.
Once approved by the Rajya Sabha, a three-member committee will be set up to look into the allegations levelled by the opposition parties against the CJI.
Why you should care
Amidst the murkiness of possible electoral agendas, the opposition’s sudden clarion call for the impeachment of Justice Misra has shrouded Indian judiciary in political colours. It is now becoming increasingly difficult to ascertain if impeachment is being used as a political tool, as alleged by finance minister Arun Jaitley, or if the charges levied against Misra indeed warrant an impeachment.
The Congress party and its friends have started using impeachment as a political tool. The power of impeachment under our Constitution is part of inter-institutional accountability… Trivialising the use of that power is a dangerous event, said Jaitley in a Facebook post on Friday.
On the issue whether consensus eluded the opposition, Congress downplayed the former Prime Minister Manmohan Singh’s distance from the issue, saying they didn’t want to involve senior leaders in the issue. “Since the issue dealt with the Constitution, we have deliberately not included Dr Manmohan Singh as he is a former prime minister. With regard to some others, whose cases are going on, we did not wish to embarrass them”, Sibal informed the media.
Sibal also told reporters the impeachment motion is not to a political move. “This is something that is in relation to the independence of an Institution and has no political motivation behind it,” he said.
However, the constitution mandates that a judge can only be removed by the order of the president, based on a motion passed by both houses of parliament, supported by a majority of not less than two-thirds of the members of that house, present and voting. The apex court judge may be removed only on the grounds of proven misbehaviour or incapacity.