Congress withdraws CJI's impeachment plea from SC

Two Congress Members of Parliament (MPs) on Tuesday withdrew their petition in the Supreme Court challenging the rejection of their notice for impeaching Chief Justice of India Dipak Misra by Rajya Sabha Chairman M Venkaiah Naidu, and questioning the setting up of a five-judge Constitution Bench to hear the matter.

Two members of Parliament (MPs) of the Congress, who had challenged the rejection of the impeachment notice against the Chief Justice of India (CJI) by Rajya Sabha Chairman on Tuesday, withdrew their petition from the Supreme Court after it showed reluctance to part with the administrative order on constitution of a larger Bench to hear the matter.

The two MPs confronted a five-judge Constitution Bench headed by Justice A K Sikri and demanded a “copy of the administrative order by which a constitution bench was constituted overnight”.

The Bench, also including judge S A Bobde, judge N V Ramana, judge Arun Mishra and judge Adarsh Kumar Goel, told senior advocate Kapil Sibal, appearing for the two lawmakers that giving a copy of the administrative order “will not lead to anywhere”. The Bench, which comprised judges who are six to 10 position in terms of seniority, expressed reluctance to go into their contention questioning the setting up of a larger bench to hear the matter.

“It is a piquant and unprecedented situation where CJI is a party and other four judges may also have some role. We don’t know,” said the Bench when Sibal asked where could he mention the matter for seeking the administrative order.

The court said: “It will lead us nowhere. You can argue the matter on merit. We are ready for it.” The Bench declared the petitions moved by Rajya Sabha Congress MPs, Partap Singh Bajwa and Amee Harshadray Yajnik, as “dismissed as withdrawn” after Sibal decided not to press the pleas realising that the judges were not inclined to accept his arguments.

The 45-minute hearing before the Bench saw Sibal raising a volley of questions over the setting up of the fivejudge Bench to hear the matter. However, Attorney General K K Venugopal sought dismissal of the petitions filed by Bajwa and Yajnik, pointing out that only two of the 64 members, who had moved the impeachment notice in the Upper House of Parliament, have approached the apex court.