A day after the Congress-led delegation of seven political parties submitted an impeachment notice against Chief Justice of India (CJI) Dipak Misra, a former Rajya Sabha official is learnt to have complained to the House Chairman’s office about the Opposition parties violating rules mentioned in the handbook for members.
“The press conference by leaders of Congress and other parties and making public the contents of their Notice of Impeachment Motion against the CJI is a clear violation of provisions of Handbook for Members of Rajya Sabha,” the official has pointed out in a communication to the Chairman’s Office.
The official is learnt to have said that advance publicity, as per Parliamentary customs and provisions, is prohibited before it is admitted by the Chairman and thereafter circulated among other members.
Sources told The Hindu that Rajya Sabha Chairman M. Venkaiah Naidu has “forwarded the notice to the Rajya Sabha secretariat to prepare a file.”
Under the Judge’s Inquiry Act 1968, Mr. Naidu can consult experts to decide on the merits of the charges.
He enjoys the discretion of either admitting the notice or rejecting it. If the Chairman admits the notice, then under section 3(2) of the Judge’s Act, he will have to form a three-member committee that will go into the specifics of the charges.
