CJI impeachment motion updates: 71 Opposition Rajya Sabha MPs sign notice; TMC, DMK, RJD opt out

Unruffled by impeachment politics, Chief Justice Dipak Misra presides over Court no 1

Unruffled by the move seeking his removal by 64 MPs, Chief Justice Dipak Misra on Monday presided over Supreme Court number 1 – although there were some anxious moments initially. Chief Justice Misra dealt with the cases in his usual ease.

Well before Monday’s proceedings commenced, news had already reached the Supreme Court that Rajya Sabha Chairman M Venkaiah Naidu had rejected the move by 64 Rajya Sabha members seeking the impeachment of the Chief Justice.

Monday’s proceedings started 13 to 14 minutes late instead of the normal 10.30 a.m. The electronic display board showed that none of the court had assembled, giving rise to speculation in the Chief Justice’s court which was packed to capacity.

Didn’t expect better from BJP government: Kanimozhi on Venkaiah Naidu’s decision

DMK MP Kanimozhi has said that the government rejecting the impeachment notice was expected. “What do you expect the government to do? They do not encourage anybody who tries to question them,” she said.

On why DMK MPs did not sign the notice, she said that her party does not believe in bringing the judiciary under question. “We hope that there will be discussion and further dialogues between the judges so that they can come to a compromise. This is the last resort for every citizen. That’s why party decided not to sign it,” she added.

Will examine grounds of rejection: CPM’s D Raja 

CPI leader D Raja, part of the opposition led by Congress which moved the impeachment motion against the Chief Justice of India, today said the concerned parties would have to examine the grounds on which the notice has been rejected by Rajya Sabha Chairman Venkaiah Naidu.

“Concerned parties will have to examine the grounds on which the motion has been rejected by the Vice President. We will have to consult among us, especially who moved the motion,” Raja said.

Venkaiah Naidu’s decision on impeachment should be challanged, says Salman Khurshid

​Senior Congress leader and former law minister Salman Khurshid said today he was not kept in the loop on the impeachment notice against CJI Dipak Misra, and refrained from commenting on Rajya Sabha Chairman M Venkaiah Naidu’s decision to reject it.

Khurshid said he cannot speak for those who signed the notice but the decision to reject it should be challenged.

When in power, Congress had thrice opposed impeachment of judges

The Congress, which spearheaded an unprecedented move to impeach the Chief Justice of India on Friday, had in fact opposed such proceedings initiated 25 years ago when it was in power.

It is interesting to note that all the previous three impeachment motions have been moved when Congress was in power at the Centre. The higher judiciary was in for the shock in 1993 for the first time in independent India when impeachment proceedings were initiated in Parliament against Supreme Court judge V Ramaswami on charges of corruption following the report of the inquiry commission.

Senior advocate and Congress Rajya Sabha lawmaker Kapil Sibal, who is at the forefront and spearheading the campaign to impeach the present CJI, however, had put up a spirited defence in favour of Justice Ramaswami in Lok Sabha.

Shehzad Poonawalla tweets old video of Kapil Sibal, arguing against impeaching sitting SC judge

Rebel Congress leader Shehzad Poonawalla responds to Kapil Sinal’s press conference 

Venkaiah Naidu acted in a hurried manner: Former LS Speaker Somnath Chatterjee

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Former Lok Sabha Speaker Somnath Chatterjee said today Rajya Sabha Chairman M Venkaiah Naidu acted in a “hurried manner” while rejecting the impeachment notice against Chief Justice of India Dipak Misra.

“This instance has set a bad precedence, which is not good for democracy,” he told PTI here, adding that Naidu should have followed proper procedures before rejecting the notice.

Kapil Sibal not to attend CJI Dipak Misra’s court until he retires, leaves office

Congress leader, senior advocate Kapil Sibal has said that he will not appear in the court of Chief Justice of India (CJI) Dipak Misra till the latter retires. “I will not appear in the Chief Justice’s court from tomorrow onwards… till he retires, because that is consistent with the highest standards of my profession,” said Sibal.

Case does not stand the scrutiny of law: Meenakshi Lekhi

Lekhi said that in Hindi the impeachment is called Mahabhiyog prastav, which literally means that the abhiyog (charges or allegations) in this case must have a much more stronger grounding than in other cases. 

However, the Opposition seems to be relying on words like prima facie, apparently etc. There are not enough documentary or even circumstantial evidence to support their claims.

Opposition MPs unsure of their own allegation: Meenakshi Lekhi

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BJP spokesperson Meenakshi Lekhi held a counter press conference to rebut Kapil Sibal’s charges. She said that the language of the notice signed by Opposition MPs in itself suggests that the MPs were themselves not sure of their charges.

Will ensure CJI Dipak Misra has nothing to do with review petition against Venkaiah Naidu’s order

Congress leader Kapil Sibal said that the Congress party will ensure that there is no involvement of Chief Justice of India in the hearing, or listing, of their review petition.

Venkaiah Naidu’s decision unprecedented as no Speaker has rejected such momentous motion at preliminary stage

Congress further argued that the Rajya Sabha Chairman’s order rejecting the motion of impeachment was unprecedented. He said that presenting a motion was the MP’s privilege. He said that Naidu wrote in his order that the Opposition’s charges are not proven, however, by rejecting the notice they ensured that an enquiry does not happen. 

Sibal said that the onus of proving the charges was not on the MPs, it was on the judicial committee formed after the motion was admitted.

What was the tearing hurry, Congress asks Venkaiah Naidu

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Kapil Sibal said that Venkaiah Naidu decided the matter within hours of returning to India after a foreign visit. He said that such momentous issues must be given their due diligence and attention. It is a hasty decision as by this, the government appears to be in a tearing hurry to block the attempts at an enquiry.

Decision to reject impeachment motion illegal: Sibal

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Kapil Sibal, in his press conference, said that the law lays down the procedure in case the motion to impeach a Supreme Court judge. The Chairman of the Rajya Sabha must consult an emminent jurist, a judge of the high court and the Chief Justice of India. In this case, the judges of the collegium must have been consulted as the CJI himslef was under scrutiny. Hence, the decision to rehect the motion is illegal, Sibal said.

Venkaiah Naidu’s decision to reject impeachment motion illegal, unprecedented, ill-advised, and hasty: Kapil Sibal

Sibal, in a press conference, said that it is their “privilege to move the motion” and the vice president in his capacity as chairman of Rajya Sabha cannot boot this privilege.

Congress responds to Venkaiah Naidu’s rejection of impeachment motion

Congress leader and eminent lawyer Kapil Sibal addressed a press conference to respond to theobjections raised by Venkaiah Naidu in his order rejecting the impeachment motion against the Chief Justice of India.

Opposition can’t succeed in SC against VP’s decision on impeachment: Soli Sorabjee

Eminent jurist Soli Sorabjee today said the Congress-led opposition had no chance to succeed in the Supreme Court against Vice President M Venkaiah Naidu’s decision rejecting impeachment notice against Chief Justice of India Dipak Misra.

Reacting to Naidu’s order rejecting the impeachment notice against the CJI moved by 64 MPs,  the former Attorney General of India said that the RS chairman has “applied his mind” after consulting legal experts on the issue.

Congress wouldn’t spare any constitutional institution: BJP 

Lashing out at Congress president Rahul Gandhi after his ‘save Constitution protests’, BJP’s Sambit Patra said that the Congress party does not trust army, Supreme Court, Election Committee, EVMs, or even RBI.

Congress to move Supreme Court after Naidu rejects impeachment motion

The Congress party will move Supreme Court for a judicial review of the Rajya Sabha Chairman’s order rejecting the impeachment motion against CJI Dipak Misra. Meanwhile, the party questioned how could the vice president decide such a matter within hours. 

“Within hours of 64 MP’s submitting the impeachment motion, Leader of Rajya Sabha (FM) had expressed naked prejudice by calling it a ‘revenge petition’ virtually dictating the verdict to Rajya Sabha Chairman on that day. Has ‘Revenge Petition’ now become ‘Rescue Order’?,” Randeep Surjewala said.

Sitaram Yechury dubs Naidu’s decision as ‘wrong move’, says independence of judiciary in danger

CPM general secretary Sitaram Yechury expressed his disappointment and said Venkaiah Naidu’s move to reject the CJI impeachment notice was a wrong one. “This was a wrong move by chairman of Rajya Sabha. This motion was not given proper attention. Something else is behind this. Independence of judiciary is in danger,” he said.

Congress attacking Supreme Court for political gains: Amit Shah

Shortly after Congress president attacked the Narendra Modi and the Bharatiya Janata Party at a rally in Delhi, BJP chief Amit Shah hit back. “Our institutions which are an outcome of our Constitution today need to be saved from the onslaught of the Congress Party. The Congress Party has spared no institution and is attacking the EC, Supreme Court, Army for petty political gains,” he said. 

Opposition can’t succeed in Supreme Court against Naidu’s decision on impeachment: Soli Sorabjee

Eminent jurist Soli Sorabjee on Monday said the Congress-led Opposition had no chance to succeed in the Supreme Court against Vice-President M Venkaiah Naidu’s decision rejecting impeachment notice against Chief Justice of India Dipak Misra.  

When asked about the procedure ahead if the Opposition moves the apex court to challenge the decision of Naidu, Rajya Sabha chairman, Sorabjee said “I don’t see chances of the writ petition (challenging the Naidu’s decision) succeeding,” he said. – PTI

Vice-president only statutory authority to reject impeachment notice: Fali S Nariman

Eminent jurist Fali S Nariman Monday said the issues raised in the impeachment notice against CJI Dipak Misra were not of “sufficient gravity and rightly rejected” by Vice-President M Venkaiah Naidu. Nariman said Naidu, the chairman of the Rajya Sabha, was the only statutory authority to take the decision on the notice.

“When you have a man like the chief justice of the Supreme Court, it (impeachment notice) has to have something that is far more important than just saying he did not do this or that. The vice president has the statutory authority and he has rightly rejected the notice,” Nariman told a TV channel. He said this move by the Opposition led by the Congress was only to demean the institution of the Supreme Court and it was not about Justice Misra. – PTI

CJI, other judges sat at 10.45 am, instead of usual 10.30 am, to undertake court proceedings

Supreme Court judges, including Chief Justice Dipak Misra, on Monday initiated court proceedings at 10.45 am instead of the scheduled 10.30 am amid speculation that they held a brief meeting on the issue of the impeachment notice against the CJI.

CJI Misra, who usually holds his court at 10.30 am, entered the courtroom almost 15 minutes late and started hearing lawyers who wanted their petitions to be listed for urgent mentioning.

BJP leader Subramanian Swamy was among the first few litigants to mention his petition for urgent hearing. The CJI’s courtroom was packed with lawyers including those who had no matters to argue for. 

Besides the CJI, all other courts sat late at 10.45 am to undertake Monday’s court proceedings. – PTI

‘Supreme Court is being muzzled, and crushed’: Rahul Gandhi at ‘Save The Constitution’ rally

Speaking at the ‘Save the Constituition’ campaign in Delhi, Congress chief Rahul Gandhi said: “The Supreme Court is being muzzled and crushed. People have lost faith in the judiciary.” Follow the LIVE updates on Rahul Gandhi’s speech here.

Full text: Venkaiah Naidu rejects impeachment motion, says ‘Parliamentary rules have been disregarded’

Rajya Sabha Chairman M Venkaiah Naidu rejected the notice given by opposition parties led by the Congress for impeachment of Chief Justice of India Dipak Misra citing lack of substantial merit in it. Naidu held extensive consultations with top legal and constitutional experts, including former chief justices and judges, before taking the decision, sources said.

Naidu said in an order on Monday said, “We cannot allow any of our pillars of governance to be weakened by any thought, word or action,” he said. The Rajya Sabha chairman said that after having perused annexures to the motion, detailed consultations and studied opinions of constitutional experts, he was “satisfied that admission of this Notice of Motion is neither desirable nor proper.” 

You can read the full text of the order here.

Five reasons why Venkaiah Naidu rejected CJI impeachment notice

Some of the r easons why Rajya Sabha chairman rejected the impeachment notice against CJI Dipak Misra are as follows:

Motion undermines independence of judiciary
No credible/verifiable facts.
Going to press by MPs denigrated institution of CJI
MPs are unsure of their own charges
Some charges are internal matters to be resolved by Supreme Court itself

BJP celebrates move as Congress mulls next legal step

“As far as the Congress is concerned, the party knew all along that this is going to happen eventually. The politics is that under no circumstances, Rahul Gandhi’s political career is being furthered. So after the BS Loya case, the frontal attack of the Congress party against the judiciary was evident. They knew they never had the numbers and that this (impeachment motion) would fall, but they wanted to give a veiled threat. It was a threat to the judiciary as Arun Jaitley had said in his blog,” said BJP leader Sambit Patra.

Both parties are playing dirty politics: Shiva Sena leader, Arvind Sawant

Congress wanted to politicise the issue, says BJP MP Meenakshi Lekhi

BJP MP Meenakshi Lekhi told reporters that the Congress wanted to politicise the issue after Rajya Sabha chairman M Venkaiah Naidu rejected the Opposition’s motion to impeach the CJI.

RECAP: Venkaiah Naidu consults legal experts including Attorney General KK Venugopal

On Sunday, Rajya Sabha Chairman M Venkaiah Naidu set in motion the process of consultation on the impeachment notice against the CJI and held discussions with a number of constitutional and legal experts, including Attorney General KK Venugopal, and former top law officer K Parasaran.

According to officials, Naidu spoke to former Lok Sabha secretary general Subhash Kashyap, ex-law secretary PK Malhotra and former legislative secretary Sanjay Singh on the issue.

He also held deliberations with senior officials of the Rajya Sabha Secretariat, they said, adding that Naidu also spoke to former Supreme Court judge B Sudarshan Reddy. The officials said the vice-president also spoke to the attorney general on the issue. – IANS

Impeachment motion was politically motivated, says ASG Satya Pal Singh

“It is within the powers of Rajya Sabha chairman Venkaiah Naidu to reject the order. This was politically motivated and they (Congress) wanted to malign the judiciary,” Additional Solicitor General of India Satya Pal Singh told _CNN-News18._​

Congress doesn’t have any grounds to impeach CJI, says retired Justice RS Sodhi

Venkaiah Naidu mentions press conference after motion is ‘against propriety’

In the 10-page order, Rajya Sabha chairman refers to para 2.2 of the Handbook for Members of Rajya Sabha and mentions that the press conference after the impeachment motion is “against propriety and parliamentary decorum as it denigrates the institution of CJI”, reported  Bar and Bench.

Don’t muzzle Constitution: Randeep Singh Surjewala

Congress spokesperson Randeep Singh Surjewala said Venkaiah Naidu can’t adjudge the motion as he as no merits to decide on the merits of the motion. “RS Chairman can’t adjudge the motion, for he has no mandate to decide the merits of the motion,” he tweeted, adding, “This is truly a fight between forces ‘Rejecting Democracy’ & voices ‘Rescuing Democracy’.”

He also said Naidu’s decision exposed Leader of Rajya Sabha Arun Jaitley’s “naked prejudice” by calling it a revenge petition. “Within hours of 64 MP’s submitting the impeachment motion, Leader of Rajya Sabha(FM) had expressed naked prejudice by calling it a ‘revenge petition’ virtually dictating the verdict to Rajya Sabha Chairman on that day. Has ‘Revenge Petition’ now become ‘Rescue Order’?” he tweeted. 

“RS Chairman can’t decide on merits in absence of quasi judicial or administrative power (M.Krishna Swami’s case). If all charges were to be proved before inquiry as RS Chairman suggests, Constitution & Judges (Inquiry) Act will have no relevance. Don’t muzzle Constitution,” Surjewala said. 

Visual of Venkaiah Naidu’s order rejecting CJI impeachment motion

Will examine grounds of dismissal, says CPI leader D Raja

“We’ll examine the grounds on which it was dismissed. I don’t think it is a setback. We’re a democracy,” CPI leader D Raja told CNN-News18.

Conversations between third parties with dubious credentials not grounds of impeachment: Venkaiah Naidu

“Conversations between third parties with dubious credentials, which have been extensively relied upon, cannot themselves constitute any material evidence against the holder of the office CJI,” said Venkaiah Naidu on impeachment motion.