Justice Yashwant Varma, facing an impeachment in Parliament after an unspecified amount of money was found in his official residence following a fire.
Impeachment process :
– The process for impeaching a judge in India involves a formal procedure outlined in the Judges Inquiry Act, 1968, and the Constitution.
Under Constitution –
Article 124 (4) A Judge of the Supreme Court shall not be removed from his office except by an order of the President passed after an address by each House of Parliament supported by a majority of the total membership of that House and by a majority of not less than two-third of the members of the House present and voting has been presented to the President in the same session for such removal on the ground of proved misbehavior or incapacity.
124(5): Parliament may by law regulate the procedure for the presentation of an address and for the investigation and proof of the misbehavior or incapacity of a Judge under clause
The impeachment process is enshrined in the judges enquiry act 1968 ;
– Under the Act, an impeachment motion may originate in either house of parliament.
To initiate proceedings
(i) at least 100 members of Lok Sabha may give a signed notice to the speaker,
or
(ii) at least 50 members of Rajya Sabha may give a signed notice to the chairman.
– The speaker or chairman may consult individuals and examine relevant material related to the notice.
– Based on this, he or she may decide to either admit the motion or refuse to admit it.
– If the motion is admitted, the speaker or chairman (who receives it) will constitute a three-member committee to investigate the complaint.
– It will comprise:
(i) a Supreme Court judge
(ii) chief justice of a high court
(iii) a distinguished jurist.
– The committee will frame charges based on which the investigation will be conducted.
– A copy of the charges will be forwarded to the judge who can present a written defence.
– After concluding its investigation, the committee will submit its report to the speaker or chairman, who will then lay the report before the relevant house of parliament.
– If the report records a finding of misbehaviour or incapacity, the motion for removal will be taken up for consideration and debated.
– The motion for removal is required to be adopted by each house of parliament by: (i) a majority of the total membership of that house; and (ii) a majority of at least two-thirds of the members of that house present and voting.
– If the motion is adopted by this majority, the motion will be sent to the other house for adoption.
– Once the motion is adopted in both houses, it is sent to the president, who will issue an order for the removal of the judge.
Note :
1. Sen was the first judge in Independent India to be impeached in the Rajya Sabha.
– But he resigned before the Lok Sabha was scheduled to discuss his impeachment.
2. In 1993, Parliament witnessed the first impeachment motion against a sitting judge when the Lok Sabha debated on the proposal to impeach Chief Justice of Punjab and Haryana V Ramaswamy.
– The motion failed as a requisite number of MPs didn’t vote.