Congress issues appeal to CJI to sit out ‘voluntarily’

“The office of the CJI is very big, and involves trust and responsibility. Till the time the trust is restored, he needs to think whether he should work as a judge or not work as a judge,” he added.

The press conference was also addressed by Congress leader Amee Yajnik and nominated Rajya Sabha member KTS Tulsi.

This is the first such notice ever presented against a CJI. The notice was signed by 71 MPS, although seven of them have retired from the Upper House since signing it.

Union finance minister Arun Jaitley said after the notice that the Congress and “its friends have started using impeachment as a political tool”.

The CJI hasn’t publicly responded to the notice. According to the list released by the Supreme Court’s registry on Saturday, it’s going to be business as usual for the CJI this week. He is expected to continue hearing the Aadhaar case, a petition seeking a transfer of the case of gang rape and murder of an eight-year-old girl in Kathua to Chandigarh, and a plea seeking the constitution of a larger bench for the Ram Janmabhoomi dispute.

Yajnik on Sunday asked the CJI to “take a decision in the interest of the nation, its people and the judicial system” while Tulsi dismissed the contention that a press conference by leaders of the Congress and other parties on Friday, making public their charges against the CJI, was in violation of the provisions of handbook for members of the Rajya Sabha.

“There is no rule of procedure in Parliament that restricts the right to discuss the motion of impeachment after it has been presented to the Rajya Sabha chairperson. The Rajya Sabha rules do not have any such restrictions,” Tulsi said. He cited an instance of the impeachment motion for removal of Karnataka High Court chief Justice PD Dinakaran in December 2009, when the then leader of the opposition in the Rajya Sabha Arun Jaitley and CPM leader Sitaram Yechury addressed the media after submitting the notice to the then Rajya Sabha chairperson Hamid Ansari.

“It is erroneous to believe that there is a breach of any rule or any etiquette. The matter is so serious that it was necessary for us to bring the truth before the people. People have the right to know and we have a duty to disclose and accurately place the facts before the nation through media,” Tulsi said.

THIS IS THE FIRST

SUCH NOTICE EVER PRESENTED AGAINST A CJI. THE NOTICE WAS SIGNED BY 71 MPS, ALTHOUGH SEVEN OF THEM HAVE RETIRED FROM THE UPPER HOUSE SINCE SIGNING IT