New Delhi, April 20: The opposition parties led by Congress on Friday met the Vice President and Rajya Sabha chairman M Venkaiah Naidu and handed over a notice of impeachment against the Chief Justice of India (CJI) Dipak Mishra which was signed by 71 MPs of the Rajya Sabha belonging to seven political parties. But Former Prime Minister Manmohan Singh along with few other leaders did not sign the notice, and the reason for it has emerged now. This is the first ever impeachment notice against a Chief Justice of India in history.

Former Law Minister Salman Khurshid has also not signed the impeachment notice and said that he was not party to discussions taking place in the Congress party at the moment. He said that impeachment was too serious a matter to be evoked on the basis of disagreement with any judgment or point of view of the court. He clarified that he cannot comment on the merit of the impeachment notice against CJI led by Congress along with some other opposition parties because he has not been a party to the discussions within the pary.

Former Finance Minister P Chidambaram also did not sign the petition saying that he was also not involved in the discussion in the party. However, Congress leader Kapil Sibal speaking on the reason why Manmohan Singh did not sign the notice said that the party "intentionally" didn't involve Dr Singh as he is an ex-PM. Sibal, however, denied the rumours that Manmohan Singh had refused to sign the petition brought by Congress.

The notice was signed by the MPs of Congress, NCP, CPI-M and CPI. MPs of SP, BSP and the Indian Union Muslim League also signed the notice. The opposition parties in the Rajya Sabha also levelled five charges against the Chief Justice of India (CJI) Dipak Misra, while moving an impeachment motion to seek his removal.

(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on Apr 20, 2018 06:42 PM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).