CONG SEES NO ‘MERIT’ IN ORDER, TO MOVE SC
The Congress on Monday announced its decision to move the Supreme Court and challenge Rajya Sabha Chairman M Venkaiah Naidu's rejection of the Opposition MPs' notice for impeachment of Chief Justice of India Dipak Misra.
"He can't decide on merit of the notice. All that he has to see is that the motion is in order under Article 124 and that it is not absolutely frivolous," asserted former union minister and senior advocate Kapil Sibal, the man behind drafting of the impeachment motion. The speed with which the Chairman took the decision is itself suspect, he said at a Press conference at the AICC headquarters here.
Asserting that the CJI should have nothing to do with the petition to be moved in the Apex Court, Sibal said it should be heard by the court as it involves serious issues, constitutional in nature that will bring transparency in the functioning of the judiciary.
Faulting each and every argument advanced by Naidu for rejecting the notice, he regretted that his order seeks to ensure that no inquiry takes place on the charges levelled, destroying the legitimate process of law as it shatters people's confidence and jeopardises the judicial system.
He did not clarify whether only Congress MPs will file the petition or the MPs of other six parties will also join to bring to logical end their attempt to oust the CJI five months before his retirement on October 2.
Congress chief spokesman Randeep Singh Surjewala also decried rejection of the notice to, saying he "can't adjudicate the motion, for he has no mandate to decide the merits of the motion." In a tweet, he wondered whether Naidu's rejection amounted to a "revenge order," stating that "this is truly a fight between forces 'rejecting Democracy' & voices 'Rescuing Democracy."
Asserting that the Constitution is being muzzled, Surjewala said: "Within hours of 64 MP's submitting the impeachment motion, leader of Rajya Sabha (finance minister Arun Jaitley) had expressed naked prejudice by calling it a 'revenge petition' virtually dictating the verdict to Rajya Sabha Chairman on that day. Has 'Revenge Petition' now become 'Rescue Order'?"
He also asked Jaitley to adhere to his stand on impeachment of Justice Sen of Calcutta High Court that "Judges no longer live in ivory towers. Caesar divorced his wife merely on the basis of suspicion. Those who occupy high offices must live through the scrutiny of highest standards of probity."
Surjewala used the same 1993 judgment that had been quoted by Naidu in his order rejecting the impeachment notice. "RS Chairman can’t decide on merits in absence of quasi-judicial or administrative power (M.Krishna Swami’s case).
Asserting that "RS Chairman can't adjudge the motion, for he has no mandate to decide the merits of the motion," he said: "If all charges were to be proved before inquiry, as RS Chairman suggests, Constitution & Judges Inquiry Act will have no relevance.
Another Congress spokesman and senior advocate Abhishek Manu Singhvi tweeted: "Expectedly, Mr Naidu rejected the impeachment motion. Unexpectedly, he did so within a day of returning from outstation. Hopefully, the alacrity was not intended to render infructuous calls for CJI to stop administrative work."