YECHURY STARTS TALKS WITH OTHER PARTIES ON CJI ‘REMOVAL’

NEWDELHI: The CPI(M) has started rallying opposition parties to discuss the possibility of bringing a motion in the coming Budget session of Parliament to remove the Chief Justice of India in a move that could impart a political colour to the ongoing tug-of-war between CJI Dipak Misra and four senior judges of the Supreme Court.

CPI(M) general secretary Sitaram Yechury, who is at the forefront of this initiative, said on Tuesday that several opposition parties had expressed deep concern about the serious issues raised by the senior SC judges. On January 12, in a press conference they expressed concern over the way the CJI was administering the court, including allocation of sensitive and important cases.

The matter hasn’t been resolved, he added. While Justices J Chelameswar, Ranjan Gogoi, Madan B Lokur and Kurian Joseph, the four judges (the senior-most after the CJI) and the CJI have discussed the matter, there has been no resolution.

“We had hoped that the matter would be settled within the judiciary. It’s the collective responsibility of all three pillars — judiciary, legislature and executive — to strengthen our democratic foundation where independence and integrity of the judiciary is non-negotiable. The only way the legislature can ensure this according to the Constitution is by moving a motion of impeachment,” said Yechury.