Govt: RS chairman has right to reject notice to impeach judge

New Delhi, April 23

Facing the Opposition heat over rejection of a move to remove the Chief Justice of India, top sources in the government said on Monday the Rajya Sabha Chairman has the “statutory right” to reject a notice to impeach a judge.

Citing provisions in the Judges Inquiry Act, the sources pointed out that the Rajya Sabha Chairman or Lok Sabha Speaker can “either admit the motion or refuse to admit the same” based on consultations and material available.

Leaders of seven opposition parties had on Friday last met Rajya Sabha Chairman Venkaiah Naidu and handed over a notice of impeachment against the Chief Justice of India, bearing signatures of 64 MPs and seven former members, who recently retired.

However, the notice was rejected on Monday morning by Naidu. "The Chairman has the statutory right to reject the motion and statutory obligation to consult before arriving at a decision," a top government functionary said.

He also asserted that "mere numbers" are not enough to "trigger" the motion. Referring to Article 124 of the Constitution, sources said the notice should have grounds of "proved misbehaviour or incapacity". "Those who complain must be sure of the grounds for removal.. In this case, the complainants were not sure," the functionary said.

"Sufficient grounds have to be proved to trigger an inquiry (by a three-member panel headed by a SC judge)...the evidence has to be contemporaneous," the functionary said.

He said if "some sanity" is not brought in the political system, the morale of the judiciary may be "hit".

Naidu rejected the notice after seeking opinion of legal and constitutional experts, including former secretary generals of Lok Sabha and other legal luminaries with whom he held extensive consultations. Naidu also took the views of top legal and constitutional experts, including former chief justices, over the past two days before taking the decision. He said the allegations emerging from the present case have a "serious tendency" of undermining the independence of judiciary. — PTI

‘Cong wants anarchy’

Congress is adopting intimidatory tactics towards SC and its move is not an attack on the individual but an institution as it wants to create anarchy by making people lose faith in the judiciary. —Meenakshi Lekhi, BJP spokesperson

‘Cong politicised Loya death’

Congress, being defeated by the people repeatedly, can’t run the country through corridors of courts based upon half-baked, false and sponsored litigations… it used the death of Judge Loya as a political tool. —Ravi Shankar Prasad, Law Minister

‘Time to impeach Cong’

It’s time to impeach Congress... people started the process in 2014 (General Election) which will be completed with the Karnataka results… Rahul Gandhi is a failed politician. That’s why he has stooped to undermining national institutions in desperation. —Sambit Patra, BJP leader

‘Norms not followed’

I am sorry to say that about the honourable Vice-President and Chairman of RS (Naidu), but I think that the methods, that had been clearly laid down — both in the constitutional procedures and rules — have not been followed. —Sitaram Yechury, CPM general secretary

‘Decide further move’

Parties concerned will have to examine the grounds on which the motion has been rejected. We have to share our views and decide on the future course of action. We will consult all parties. —D Raja, CPI leader

‘V-P found no merit in it’

The vice president has applied his mind. He has consulted legal experts and has come to a decision. We did not want the matter hanging indefinitely. He has gone into the matter and found no merit in it. —Soli Sorabjee, Eminent Jurist

‘Worse than Emergency’

The situation created by the Modi government is even worse than the Emergency proclaimed by Indira Gandhi… No community is feeling secure due to the actions of the present government at the Centre. —Yashwant Sinha, Former Union Minister

‘Rejecting vs rescuing democracy’

It’s a fight between forces rejecting democracy and voices rescuing democracy… Within hours of submitting notice, Arun Jaitley had shown naked prejudice by calling it a revenge petition, dictating the verdict to the RS chairman. —Randeep Singh Surjewala, AICC media in-charge