Mumbai, April 20: After Chief Justice of India (CJI) Deepak Mishra squashed the plea, demanding probe in Justice BH Loya death case and claimed that its politically motivated, 71 Opposition MPs in the Rajya Sabha signed an impeachment motion on Friday seeking his ouster.

Disappointed with the move, former Attorney General of India Sobi Sorabjee said this is the worst thing to hit the Indian Judiciary. "Politics should be completely kept out, if we want our judiciary to be independent, also if we want our people to believe on judiciary. Passing an impeachment motion against CJI is a very sad scenario," he said.

He further added that such impeachment motions will damage the judiciary's public perception. Meanwhile, the Supreme court has expressed its concern on the issue.

The apex court has reportedly sought assistance from Attorney General KK Venugopal asking his opinion on whether media should be stopped from discussing the impeachment motion.

The Opposition leaders today submitted a notice for the impeachment of the CJI Dipak Misra to vice president Venkaiah Naidu. Senior Congress leader Kapil Sibal said the notice mentions five grounds of "misbehavior" for the CJI's impeachment.

"When the judges of the Supreme Court themselves believe that the judiciary's independence is at threat, alluding to the functioning of the office of the CJI, should the nation stand still and do nothing", asked Sibal.

The Congress veteran said the concern of all those who've signed the impeachment notice is that democracy is being undermined. "We wish this day had never come in the fabric of our constitutional framework. Since the day he (Dipak Misra) was appointed as the CJI there have been questions raised in the manner in which he has dealt with certain cases,and Impeachment is the only recourse to save the judiciary," he added.

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. "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," said party president Rahul Gandhi.

(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on Apr 20, 2018 05:55 PM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).