What is impeachment?(Definition of impeachment), Process Of Impeachment Of Judges & List of judges impeached so far in India

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What is impeachment?(Definition of impeachment)

Impeachment means being charged for misconduct or incapacity to act. Under the constitution, judges, chief justices of the Supreme Court and high courts can only be removed after being charged with "proven misconduct and incapacity" by the president of India on a motion adopted in both houses of parliament by two-thirds majority.

The Constitution of India, along with the Judges (Inquiry) Act, 1968 and the Judges (Inquiry) Rules, 1969, provides for the entire process of Impeachment.

The Article 124(4) of the Constitution of India says: "A Judge of the Supreme Court shall not be removed from his office except by an order of the President passed after an address by each House of Parliament supported by a majority of the total membership of that House and by a majority of not less than two-thirds of the members of that House present and voting has been presented to the President in the same session for such removal on the ground of proved misbehaviour incapacity."

The following are pre-conditions for the removal of Judge of the Supreme Court/ High Court:

1. A Judge of the Supreme Court shall be removed only by an order of the President;
2. It should be after presentation of an Address by each House of Parliament;
3. The Address should be supported by a special majority;
4. The Address should be presented to the President in the same session; and
5. Removal has to be on the grounds of “proved” misbehaviour or incapacity.

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Process of Impeachment of Judges as per Constitution of India:-

Step 1: A notice of motion is issued by 100 MPs from the Lok Sabha or 50 MPs from the Rajya Sabha. This motion for removal can be moved in either House.

Step 2: The motion can either be accepted or rejected by the Speaker/Chairman of the House.
If the motion is admitted, the Speaker or the Chairman of the House forms a three-member committee comprising a senior judge of the Supreme Court, a judge of the High Court and a distinguished jurist to investigate the charges. This committee would look into the alleged charges levelled against the Chief Justice of India.

Step 3: If the three-member committee decides to support the motion, it is taken up for discussion in the House, where it had been introduced and must be passed by a special majority - which means it has to be supported by a majority of the total membership of that House not less than two-thirds of the members of that House present and voting.

Step 4: Once it is passed, it is taken up in the next House where again it needs to be passed by a special majority.

Step 5: After the motion is passed through both the Houses with two-third majority, the President of India is approached to remove the Chief Justice of India.

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List of judges impeached so far in India -

·    Justice Soumitra Sen of the Calcutta High Court in 2011 avoided the ignominy of becoming the first judge to be impeached by Parliament by tendering his resignation.

·   Justice P.D. Dinakaran, Chief Justice of the Sikkim High Court, against whom the Rajya Sabha Chairman had set up a judicial panel to look into allegations of corruption, resigned in July 2011, before impeachment proceedings could be initiated against him.

·   In 2015, a group of 58 Rajya Sabha MPs moved an impeachment notice against Justice J.B. Pardiwala of the Gujarat High Court for his “objectionable remarks on the issue of reservation.”

·    Justice V. Ramaswami has the dubious distinction of being the first judge against whom impeachment proceedings were initiated. In 1993, the motion was brought up in Lok Sabha, but it failed to secure the required two-thirds majority.