Congress issues appeal to CJI to sit out ‘voluntarily’

THE PARTY IS PLANNING TO MOVE THE SUPREME COURT FOR A JUDICIAL REVIEW IF THE MOTION IS REJECTED BY NAIDU

NEWDELHI: The Congress on Sunday appealed to Chief Justice of India (CJI) Dipak Misra to “voluntarily” recuse himself from judicial and administrative work, saying he should decide “whether to work as a judge or not after aspersions were cast” against him in the notice for a motion for his removal sent to the Rajya Sabha by seven political parties led by the Congress.

The main opposition party also said it hoped that Rajya Sabha chairperson M Venkaiah Naidu will decide on accepting the motion in “seriousness” and as per the Constitution.

A senior Congress leader, who asked not to be named, said the party was planning to move the Supreme Court for a judicial review if the motion was rejected by Naidu.

“He (Misra) is the Chief Justice of India. He should voluntarily submit himself for a probe. The allegations against him are in fact allegations against the nation. If these allegations are true, the law will take its own course and if false the facts should come before the public. That is why we are appealing to his conscience to voluntarily recuse himself from work,” senior Congress leader Vivek Tankha said.

“Till the time there is further action on the motion, he needs to think himself how he should participate in the court,”tankha told a news conference.