Even as Rajya Sabha Chairman M. Venkaiah Naidu rejected the impeachment motion submitted by the Congress-led opposition against the Chief Justice of India Dipak Misra, the unsavoury controversy is far from over. The unprecedented political fight over the top constitutional post is expected to escalate in the coming days. The Congress said they would now approach the Supreme Court against the Naidu's order.
Both the BJP and the Congress accused each other of undermining the institutions as they launched a slugfest. Congress president Rahul Gandhi waded into the Supreme Court controversy, saying it was for the first time that four judges had to go public to raise issues. “The SC is being crushed; Parliament is shut; nothing is being done on the Nirav Modi or Lalit Modi issues,” Gandhi alleged.
BJP chief Amit Shah countered the Congress chief. “Right now, the buzzword for the Congress and their friends is ‘impeachment.’ The judiciary, which is an institution that is trusted by 125 crore Indians, has invited the wrath of Congress and the Nehru-Gandhi dynasty in particular. I will not get into the reasons (which everybody knows), but I will say that this is a part of a larger trend to demonise and weaken every institution that seeks to maintain its individual identity and not kowtow to the dynasty,” Shah said in a blog.
The political parties will take their fight to the people. As the election campaign in Karnataka is picking the pace, it will not be surprising if the Supreme Court is dragged into the campaign. The Congress is organising the 'Save Constitution' programme, which the BJP said was in fact 'save the dynasty.' BJP spokesperson Meenakashi Lekhi went a step ahead and “thanked” Rajya Sabha Chairman Naidu for rejecting the impeachment motion.
The Congress is refusing to take Naidu's order as the final word. Party spokesperson and former law minister Kapil Sibal questioned the vice president's hurry in deciding the matter. “It takes time to understand a motion when it is backed by documents and 64 valid signatures. Matters should not be disposed off in such a fashion," Sibal argued. He added that the vice president should have admitted the motion.
“We will go to Supreme Court against the order. We would like that CJI does not hear it and even not decide the listing,” Sibal said.
Naidu, in his ten-page order, listed the reasons for his decision. Referring to the speed with which he took up the matter, he said, “The act of members (signatories to the petition) of discussing the conduct of the CJI in the press is against propriety and parliamentary decorum as it denigrates the institution of CJI. I am also aware that there has been a spate of statements in the press that seem to vitiate the atmosphere. I thought I should, therefore, expedite my decision and end needless speculation”
The Congress submitted the impeachment motion, listing five reasons against Misra. These included Prasad Education Trust case, where an allegation of illegal gratification was made; antedating of an administrative order dated November 6, 2017 which amounts to a serious act of forgery; acquisition of land; and alleged abuse of power for becoming master of the roster.
Naidu said he thought it fit to consult legal luminaries, constitutional experts and former secretary generals of both the houses, former law officers, law commission members and eminent jurists who generously shared their insights based on their long, rich experience.
“I have also gone through the comments made by former attorney general, constitutional experts and editors of prominent newspapers which are unequivocal and nearly unanimous that the present notice of motion before me is not a fit case for removal of judges,” the vice president said in his order.
Demolishing the argument of the opposition members, Naidu said the MPs, who have presented the petition, are unsure of their own case.
“...the phrases used by the Hon'ble Members of Parliament themselves indicate a mere suspicion, a conjecture or an assumption. The same certainly does not constitute proof "beyond reasonable doubt", which is required to make out a case of "proved misbehaviour" under Article 124 (4). Conversations between third parties with dubious credentials, which have been extensively relied upon, cannot themselves constitute any material evidence against the holder of the office of the Chief Justice of India,” Naidu ruled.
“I have applied my mind to each of the five charges as made out in the motion. I have examined all the documents annexed to the motion. I am of the clear opinion that all facts, as stated in the motion, read with the context of the annexed documents, do not make a case under Article 124(4) of the Constitution which can lead any reasonable mind to conclude that the Chief Justice of India on these facts can be ever held guilty of 'misbehaviour'.”
There are still five months to go before Misra's tenure gets over in October. The debate around the deep crisis in the judiciary is unlikely to die any soon.