It has been learnt that Vice President Venkaiah Naidu will take his time to go through the notice submitted to him by some opposition leaders to impeach Chief Justice of India Dipak Misra, after a bench headed by Misra dismissed a case seeking investigation into the death of CBI judge B.H. Loya.
Said an official in the vice president’s office, “He (Naidu) is in Delhi, but he has some official functions to attend, and will be travelling mostly. He will take his time to study the notice, and also seek legal consultation, before taking an appropriate decision on it. There will not be a hurried decision on it."
Around 64 MPs, belonging to the Congress, the Nationalist Congress Party, the CPI(M), the CPI, the Samajwadi Party, the Bahujan Samaj Party, and the Indian Union Muslim League, signed the notice for impeachment proceedings against Misra.
Said senior Congress leader Kapil Sibal, "When the judges of the Supreme Court themselves believe that the judiciary's independence is at threat, alluding to the functioning of the office of the CJI, should the nation stand still and do nothing."
Union Finance Minister Arun Jaitley said the petition by the opposition parties is being used as a political tool to intimidate judges hearing controversial issues. “What has happened today is a price the Indian judiciary has to pay for misadventures of many. There is no better time for judicial statesmanship and political foresight,” said Jaitley.
On April 20, the apex court sought the help of Attorney General K.K. Venugopal on a plea demanding a gag order against the media on reporting about the impeachment process. The bench of Justices A.K. Sikri and Ashok Bhushan said, “It was very unfortunate that despite knowing the law that till a certain point, the issue of impeachment cannot be made public, the politicians were holding public discussions.”
Said Venugopal to THE WEEK, “All this is really unfortunate. I am not commenting on it now. The court has asked me to respond to the plea. I will respond by Monday, or latest by Tuesday.”
No chief justice has been impeached in India. Article 124(4) states that any judge of the Supreme Court can be impeached on account of misbehaviour or incapacity. If the vice president appoints a three-member committee—consisting of a senior judge of the apex court, a judge of the high curt and a distinguished jurist—and that committee supports the motion, then the motion must be passed by two-third majority in both the Rajya Sabha and the Lok Sabha. Once passed by Parliament, the President can pass an order for removal of the judge.
Said Bizay Sonkar Shastri, former MP, and BJP spokesperson, to THE WEEK, “This move by the Congress and other parties will backfire big time. It has already affected the morale of the judges of the Supreme Court. All this shows that the Congress is desperate. It is always up to some nonsense or the other.”
Said senior Congress leader C.P. Joshi to THE WEEK, “My party has already stated its official position on the issue. I will not add to that.”