
The Opposition INDIA bloc parties in the Rajya Sabha are gearing up to submit a motion for the impeachment of Allahabad High Court judge Justice Shekhar Kumar Yadav, following his controversial remarks made at a Vishwa Hindu Parishad (VHP) event last week, reported The Indian Express.
The report also said that sources revealed that 36 MPs from various opposition parties have already signed the petition, led by Independent Rajya Sabha MP and lawyer Kapil Sibal. The petition is expected to be moved in the Rajya Sabha on Thursday, after further signatures are collected. The INDIA bloc holds 85 seats in the Rajya Sabha.
Among the signatories are prominent leaders such as Congress’s Digvijaya Singh, Jairam Ramesh, and Vivek Tankha; the Aam Aadmi Party’s Sanjay Singh; the Trinamool Congress’s Saket Gokhale and Sagarika Ghose; the RJD’s Manoj Kumar Jha; the Samajwadi Party’s Javed Ali Khan; the CPI(M)’s John Brittas; and the CPI’s Santhosh Kumar.
The notice calls for the initiation of impeachment proceedings against Justice Yadav under Section 3(1)(B) of The Judges (Inquiry) Act, along with Articles 124(4) and 124(5) of the Constitution.
According to the Judges Inquiry Act of 1968, a complaint against a judge must be supported by a resolution signed by at least 100 members in the Lok Sabha or 50 MPs in the Rajya Sabha if it is to be initiated in the upper house.
Sources within the Opposition camp indicated that they will include video clips, transcripts of Justice Yadav's controversial speech, and links to news articles covering the remarks in their submission.
Once the motion is submitted, the presiding officer of the House has the discretion to accept or reject it. If accepted, a three-member committee, consisting of two judges and a jurist, will be formed to investigate the complaint and decide whether it warrants the start of impeachment proceedings.
The committee formed to investigate an impeachment complaint includes one Supreme Court judge and the Chief Justice of a High Court if the complaint is against a High Court judge. If the complaint is against a sitting Supreme Court judge, two Supreme Court judges are involved.
According to Article 124(4) of the Constitution, the impeachment motion must be supported by a majority of the total membership of the House, as well as by at least two-thirds of the members present and voting in both the Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha.
Given the NDA's majority in both Houses, it is unlikely that the impeachment motion will pass in either the Lok Sabha or Rajya Sabha.
There have been four attempts to impeach High Court judges and two attempts to remove Supreme Court judges, with the most recent being in 2018 against then Chief Justice of India Dipak Misra. None of these motions have successfully completed the impeachment process.
As per Article 124(4) of the Constitution: “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 present and voting, has been presented to the President in the same session for such removal on the grounds of proved misbehavior or incapacity.”
Section 3 of the Judges Inquiry Act, 1968, states: “If notice is given of a motion for presenting an address to the President praying for the removal of a Judge, then the Speaker (Lok Sabha) or the Chairman (Rajya Sabha), after consulting such persons as they deem fit and considering any available materials, may either admit or refuse to admit the motion.”
Article 124(5) allows Parliament to regulate the procedure for presenting an address and for investigating and proving the misbehavior or incapacity of a Judge under clause (4).
At an event organised by the VHP’s legal cell at the Allahabad High Court on Sunday, Justice Yadav made controversial remarks, stating: “You can’t disrespect a woman who has been recognised as a goddess in our Shastras and Vedas. You can’t claim the right to have four wives, perform halala, or practice triple talaq. You say, we have the right to say ‘triple talaq’, and not give maintenance to women.”
In September 2021, Justice Yadav sparked controversy with his claim that "scientists believe the cow is the only animal that exhales oxygen." He also advocated for Parliament to declare the cow as India's national animal and proposed that cow protection be recognized as a "Fundamental Right of Hindus."