NEW DELHI – India’s opposition parties launched an unprecedented bid to impeach the top judge on Friday, accusing him of failing to protect the independence of the judiciary from executive interference, among other charges.
A petition, backed by lawmakers from seven parties, raised five charges against Chief Justice Dipak Misra, including an accusation he arbitrarily used his power to allot sensitive cases and questioning his conduct in the acquisition of land.
As many as 64 Parliamentarians (MPs) belonging to seven political parties submitted a notice for impeachment proceedings against the CJI to vice president, the Times of India reported. They belonged to the main opposition Congress Party, the Communist Party of India and Samajwadi Party – a powerful regional party in the key northern state of Uttar Pradesh – and four other parties.
The move comes in the wake of the latest supreme court judgment, which dismissed the demand for an investigation into the death of CBI judge BH Loya.
Vice President Venkaiah Naidu, a former senior minister in Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s government who also chairs the upper house, must now decide whether the petition merits debate.
Before meeting Naidu, leader of the opposition in the Rajya Sabha Ghulam Nabi Azad met representatives of all opposition parties that had in February petitioned President Ram Nath Kovind for an investigation into Loya’s death. The motion for removal of CJI Misra was first suggested in the wake of a January 12 press conference of the four most senior SC judges.
https://en.dailypakistan.com.pk/world/four-indian-supreme-court-judges-see-democracy-in-danger/
The four next highest-ranking judges in the supreme court criticised his distribution of cases and raised concerns about judicial appointments.
The judges said then that the issues involving the supreme court’s administration were serious enough to prompt them take the unprecedented step of going public with their criticism.
The Congress has attacked the SC judgment on the investigation of Loya’s death as a “sad letter day”, saying there should be a fair investigation into the matter. Congress chief Rahul Gandhi today India will not allow judge Loya to be forgotten.
https://twitter.com/RahulGandhi/status/987233204976472064
“There is no hope left, everything is managed’ say Judge Loya’s family. I want to tell them, there is hope. There is hope because millions of Indians can see the truth. India will not allow Judge Loya to be forgotten,” tweeted the Congress chief.
Misra was appointed in August and is due to retire in October, when he reaches the mandatory retirement age of 65.
Misra’s office told reporters he would not be making any comment on the issue.
