New Delhi, Mar 28: The Congress-led Opposition in the Rajya Sabha attempts to press the first-ever impeachment motion against a sitting Chief Justice of India. 71 MPs from the Opposition camp have signed the motion seeking the ouster of CJI Deepak Misra.

The impeachment motion comes a day after the CJI-led top court bench ruled out an independent inquiry into the death of Justice BH Loya. The judge, ahead of his demise, was heading the bench which was hearing the Sohrabuddin Sheikh encounter case involving BJP national chief Amit Shah.

The signatories to the unprecedented motion include 51 MPs of the Congress, 5 each of the NCP and CPI(M), 7 of Samajwadi Party and 1 of the CPI.

"Since the day he (Justice Dipak Misra) was appointed as CJI there have been questions raised in the manner in which he has dealt with certain cases," said Congress veteran Kapil Sibal, emphasising on the Judge Loya case verdict yesterday, where the petitions seeking inquiry into his death were brushed aside being called as "frivolous".

Explained: The process behind impeaching the CJI

  • The Members of Parliament seeking the removal of the CJI need to submit a petition with at least 50 lawmakers supporting it. With 71 MPs signing the notice, the impeachment motion is eligible to be admitted.

  • The motion will now be presented before the Presiding Officer of the House, who is also the Chairman of the Rajya Sabha – M Venkaiah Naidu.

  • The Presiding Officer of the House will form a committee comprising of a Supreme Court judge, a High Court judge and an eminent jurist, which will examine the merit of the motion. Based on the committee's recommendation, the Presiding Officer will take a call on admitting the motion.

  • If the motion is admitted, a debate will be conducted in the House. During the course of the debate, the CJI could defend the charges levelled against him before the MPs – either in person or through a counsel who would represent him.

  • If the impeachment motion sails through, this will be the first-ever instance in India's parliamentary history of a sitting Chief Justice of SC being sacked.

Why CJI Dipak Misra is targeted by the Opposition

While the Loya case could be considered as the triggering point, Justice Misra's appointment has irked a section of the judicial and political class since his appointment last year.

  • The proposed impeachment motion comes a couple of months after four Supreme Court judges - whose seniority is only next to CJI Dipak Misra - addressed an unprecedented press conference claiming a "threat to democracy" as the Chief Justice is allegedly exercising arbitrary powers in the allocation of crucial cases.

  • The four judges - Justices Jasti Chelameswar, Madan B Lokur, Ranjan Gogoi and Kurien Joseph - had accused the CJI of ignoring the seniority of the bench while allocating "sensitive cases".

  • The alleged high-handedness adopted by the Justice Dipak Misra while assigning sensitive cases. According to the four dissenting judges, the CJI is ignoring the seniority of the bench while allocating the cases.

  • The Opposition, as per reports, is also planning to raise the issue of Lucknow Medical College Bribery Case. Advocate Prashant Bhushan, whose NGO is a petitioner in the case, has demanded an "in-house inquiry" against the CJI, claiming there is "prima-facie evidence" raising doubts against his involvement in the graft scandal.

  • A long-pending case against Justice Misra of allegedly acquiring land for public use via a fraudulent affidavit is also expected to be raised by the Opposition. The land was reportedly acquired by him when he was a practising lawyer in Odisha, back in 1979.

According to former attorney general Soli Sorabjee, the impeachment motion against the CJI brings to fore another low in Indian polity. "This motion will further damage the judiciary's public perception," he said.

Finance Minister Arun Jaitley blasted the Opposition over the proposed impeachment motion, calling it a "revenge petition" against the CJI after the "falsehood in Justice Loya case was exposed".

(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on Apr 20, 2018 10:47 PM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).