SYLLABUS
GS 2: Indian Constitution- historical underpinnings, evolution, features, amendments, significant provisions and basic structure.
Context: Recently, Justice Yashwant Varma of the Allahabad High Court tendered his resignation to President Draupadi Murmu with immediate effect at a critical stage when Parliamentary removal proceedings were underway.
More on News:
• This marks the third instance in independent India where a High Court judge has resigned during impeachment related proceedings to avoid their conclusion.
Constitutional Provision for High Courts
• Article 214: High Courts for states
• Article 215: High Courts to be courts of record
• Article 216: Constitution of High Courts
• Article 217: Appointment and conditions of the office of a Judge of a High Court
• Article 218: Application of certain provisions relating to Supreme Court to High Courts
• Article 222: Transfer of a judge from one High Court to another
• Each such resignation has exposed the same constitutional lacuna without prompting any legislative remedy so far.
• While the constitution does not use the word ‘impeachment’, it is colloquially used to refer to the proceedings under Article 124 (for the removal of a Supreme Court judge) and Article 218 (for the removal of a high court judge).
• Notable Impeachment Attempts in India:
- Justice V. Ramaswami (1993): First SC judge to face impeachment; panel found misuse of funds, but motion failed in Lok Sabha due to abstentions.
- Justice Soumitra Sen (2011): Accused of fund misappropriation; Rajya Sabha passed motion, but he resigned before Lok Sabha consideration.
• No judge in India has been successfully impeached since independence.
Backgound and Timeline
• Incident and initial developments: A firefighting operation at Justice Varma’s official residence in Delhi led to the discovery of sacks of charred cash while he was serving as a judge of the Delhi High Court.
- He denied ownership and called the storeroom a general dumping area, after which he was transferred to the Allahabad High Court.
• In-house inquiry by judiciary: Then Chief Justice of India Sanjiv Khanna set up a three member in house committee comprising Justice Sheel Nagu, Justice G S Sandhawalia and Justice Anu Sivaraman.
- The committee’s 64 page report found strong inferential evidence of his tacit or active control over the storeroom and recommended removal proceedings.
• Judicial and constitutional process: The Chief Justice of India recommended removal to the President and Prime Minister after he refused to resign.
- Justice Varma challenged the in house procedure in the Supreme Court but the petition was dismissed stating the Chief Justice of India is not a mere post office between the committee and the President.
- His challenge to the Speaker’s decision to admit a removal motion was also dismissed
• Parliamentary inquiry: A three member inquiry committee was constituted under the Judges Inquiry Act 1968 by Speaker Om Birla.
- The committee continued its proceedings with a change in membership after retirement of one member.
How a Sitting Judge Can Be Removed From Office?
• The constitution provides that a judge can be removed only by an order of the president, based on a motion passed by both houses of parliament.
• The procedure for removal of judges is elaborated in the Judges Inquiry Act, 1968. The Act sets out the following steps for removal from office:
| Stage | Process |
| Initiation of motion | Impeachment motion may originate in either House of Parliament. Lok Sabha requires 100 members’ signed notice to the Speaker. Rajya Sabha requires 50 members’ signed notice to the Chairman. Speaker or Chairman may examine material and decide to admit or refuse the motion. |
| Inquiry committee formation | If admitted, a three member committee is constituted by Speaker or Chairman. It includes a Supreme Court judge, a Chief Justice of a High Court, and a distinguished jurist. The committee frames charges and conducts investigation. Judge is given a copy of charges and opportunity for written defence. |
| Report submission | After investigation, the committee submits its report to the Speaker or Chairman, who places it before the House of Parliament. |
| Parliamentary consideration | If report finds misbehaviour or incapacity, the motion is taken up for debate in the House. |
| Voting requirement | Motion must be passed in each House by majority of total membership and majority of at least two-thirds of members present and voting. After approval in one House, it is sent to the other House. |
| Final removal | After approval by both Houses, the motion is sent to the President, who issues the order for removal of the judge. |
Source:
The Hindu
Scobserver
PRS India