Describing Rajya Sabha Chairman and Vice-President M. Venkaiah Naidu’s order on the Opposition’s impeachment motion against the Chief Justice of India (CJI) as “illegal, ill-advised and hasty’’, the Congress on Monday said it would challenge it in the Supreme Court.
“We will certainly move a petition in the Supreme Court to challenge this order … We would want the CJI not to take any decision with respect to it, be it the listing or anything else. We will accept whatever the SC decides,” former Law Minister Kapil Sibal said.
Jointly addressing a press conference with the Congress’s legal wing head, Vivek Tankha, Mr. Sibal, who led the party’s efforts to bring a Motion for Removal of Justice Misra, explained why they called it “illegal”.
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“Never before in the history of India an impeachment motion moved by the members of Parliament has been dismissed at the preliminary stage. Therefore, it is unprecedented. It is illegal because the Chairman has passed an order which is required to be passed after a full-fledged inquiry,” Mr. Sibal said.
The Congress leader said the Judges’ [Inquiry] Act, 1968 stipulates that the Chairman should consult the CJI but since it concerned the Chief Justice himself, he should have consulted members of the Supreme Court Collegium.
“The Chairman of the Rajya Sabha has said that we have not been able to establish ‘proved misbehaviour’ but how do we prove before an inquiry,” asked Mr. Sibal.
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The Congress’s legal experts also said the Chairman had limited powers in dealing with such a petition and hinted that Mr. Naidu may have exceeded his brief.