New Delhi: As an open rebellion broke out in the judiciary with four top Supreme Court judges levelling charges against the Chief Justice of India, the Opposition parties moved swiftly and are likely to move a “symbolic” impeachment motion against CJI Dipak Misra in the Rajya Sabha. The government, however, kept a safe distance and made it clear that it would not intervene in the matter.
Officially, the Congress, Trinamul Congress and the Left all said the matter should be looked into, terming the charges levelled by the four judges as grave in nature. Sources said the Opposition parties are in touch with each other to explore the option of moving a motion of impeachment in the Rajya Sabha against CJI Misra. Any such motion will be symbolic in nature as the Opposition doesn’t have the two-thirds strength required for it to be passed. Also, the Opposition can move this motion in the Upper House only as it requires the signatures of only 50 members there, as against those of 100 members in the Lok Sabha. The Congress demanded a probe, saying: “What happened today was unprecedented and needs to be looked into.” Lending weight to the importance of the matter, a press conference was addressed by Congress president Rahul Gandhi, where he said the points that have been raised by the four Supreme Court judges were “extremely important”. He said: “They have mentioned that there is a threat to democracy. I think it is extremely serious and needs to be looked into carefully.”
Interestingly, it was the first time that the Congress had raised the matter of allegations about the “mysterious” death of CBI judge B.H. Loya, who was hearing the Sohrabuddin Sheikh encounter case. Gandhi said: “They (the four judges) have also made a point about judge Loya’s case. I think that also needs to be investigated properly. It needs to be examined at the highest level of the honourable Supreme Court. This type of thing has never happened before. It is unprecedented and I think all citizens who love the idea of justice... are looking at this issue closely, and I think it is important to be addressed.”
