''Impeachment motion against CJI could be counterproductive''

Mukesh Ranjan

Tribune News Service

New Delhi, January 24

In view of CPI|(M) leader Sitaram Yachury claiming that his party was trying to build a consensus on moving an impeachment motion against Chief Justice of India (CJI) Dipak Misra in the Budget Session of Parliament, former law minister and Congress leader Ashwani Kumar on Wednesday said the move “could be counterproductive and may be politicised as an assault on the independence of judiciary”.

Speaking exclusively to The Tribune, Kumar said, “It is my personal view that impeachment of a sitting judge of the Supreme Court is an extreme remedy warranted only on the basis of established fact constituting moral turpitude.”  

He argued that while serious misgivings regarding the court’s functioning as expressed by senior-most judges of the Supreme Court were a matter of great concern, “this does not seem to be a case of impeachment of the judge concerned”.

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Noting that such a step could prove counterproductive, Kumar said, “It may be politicised as an assault on the independence of judiciary, as part of political agenda of political parties.” He then went on to say that thus it was imperative that such an impression was avoided.

“It is also necessary to factor in the views of the entire legal fraternity in the country before deciding on the possible impeachment process,” he insisted.

Meanwhile, Yachury is reported to have said on Tuesday, “Looks like the crisis is not resolved yet, so we need to intervene and it’s time to play the role of the legislature. We are discussing with Opposition parties the possibility of an impeachment motion against the CJI in the Budget Session.”

On January 12, four senior-most Supreme Court judges held a press conference raising questions on “selective” allocation of cases to certain Benches. Though, the judges did not spell it out clearly, inferences have been drawn that Supreme Court judges allegedly “close” to the ruling dispensation have been allotted critical cases.