‘RS rules bar public statements on judge’s removal‘

NEW DELHI: The Supreme Court said on Monday that Rajya Sabha rules prohibited lawmakers from making public statements on the removal of a judge of the higher judiciary without any notice in Parliament.

The remarks, oral in nature, were made by a bench of justices AK Sikri and Ashok Bhushan, while hearing a public interest litigation (PIL) that appears to have been provoked by a press conference of the Congress on the notice of a motion seeking removal of the Chief Justice of India that was rejected by the vice-president on April 23.

The petition sough the prevention of publicising, including through media reports, of such removal motions before parliament admits them. The judges said there was no urgency in the matter and posted it for a hearing for the third week of July. They added that Rajya Sabha rules themselves prohibit public statements on a removal motion. Senior advocate Meenakshi Arora, representing the petitioner NGO ‘In Pursuit of Justice’, said the issue raised in the plea was concerned with “times to come” and required consideration by the top court. “Why do you feel that such a time will come again and again?” the bench asked, adjourning the hearing to July.

Attorney general (AG) KK Venugopal, who was to assist the court, said the plea has become infructuous in the wake of the rejection by Naidu.

Arora pointed out to the court that the law commission had recommended that such public statements cannot be made outside. The commission had given its recommendation way back in 2005 that it should be an offence to discuss these things outside the House, but nothing has been done till now, she added.