Congress withdraws CJI impeachment petition in Supreme Court

In a fresh twist, the Congress on Tuesday withdrew its petition challenging Vice President M. Venkaiah Naidu's decision to dismiss the notice for an impeachment motion against Chief Justice of India Dipak Misra on grounds that the constitution bench refused to give the petitioner the details of the administrative order passed constituting the bench. Questioning the listing of their plea, two Congress MPs Partap Singh Bajwa and Amee Harshadray Yajnik, challenging the rejection of impeachment notice against CJI Dipak Misra, withdrew their petitions. 

On Monday, the Congress' petition was listed to be heard on Tuesday by a Constitution bench comprising Justices S.A. Bobde, A.K. Sikri, N.V. Ramana, Arun Mishra and A.K. Goel. However, on Tuesday, senior advocate Kapil Sibal, appearing for the MPs, asked who passed the order for setting up a 5-judge bench to hear matter. Sibal said the matter was listed before 5-judge bench through an administrative order and added that the CJI Dipak Misra cannot pass such orders in this matter.

Sibal also asserted in the Supreme Court that they need to have a copy of the order on setting up of bench as they may consider challenging it. "What is the problem in supplying the copy of the reference order and constitution of the bench to the petitioners? If you are not giving the order of constitution of bench, how can I proceed... I am withdrawing the petition," Kapil Sibal said on Tuesday. The petition was dismissed as withdrawn on Tuesday.

Partap Singh Bajwa and Amee Harshadray Yajnik, who are Congress MPs in the Rajya Sabha, moved the Supreme Court on Monday, challenging the decision of Naidu, who is also chairman of the upper house of Parliament, to dismiss the notice submitted by the opposition MPs. They also sought a direction to Naidu to constitute a committee to probe the charges listed against Misra in the impeachment notice.