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Supreme Court Upholds Lok Sabha Speaker’s Inquiry Committee on Justice Yashwant Varma
The Supreme Court upholds the Lok Sabha Speaker’s inquiry committee related to Justice Yashwant Varma. The Court observes that rejection of a motion against a judge in one House does not render the other House incompetent to proceed with investigation and form an inquiry committee.
Removal of Judges (SC/HC): Constitutional Provisions and Procedure
| Dimension | Key Details |
|---|---|
| Constitutional Articles | Article 124 and Article 218 deal with removal of judges of the Supreme Court and High Courts respectively. |
| Grounds for removal | Removal provides for proven misbehavior and incapacity; these are not defined in the Constitution. |
| Procedure regulation | Procedure is regulated by the Judges Enquiry Act (1968). |
| Terminology in Constitution | The Constitution provides for removal of judges without mentioning the word impeachment. |
| Initiation threshold | A motion provides for signatures of at least 100 Lok Sabha members or 50 Rajya Sabha members. |
| Submission and admission | Motion is submitted to the presiding officer of the respective House, who may or may not admit it. |
| Inquiry committee composition | Investigation provides for a 3-member committee comprising a Supreme Court judge, a High Court Chief Justice, and a distinguished jurist. |
| Authority constituting inquiry committee | Speaker of Lok Sabha or the Chairman of Rajya Sabha, as the case may be, upon admission of the notice of motion. |
| Inquiry committee report handling | After concluding investigation, the committee submits its report to the Speaker/Chairman, who lays it before the relevant House of Parliament. |
| Condition to take up motion for debate | If the report records a finding of misbehaviour or incapacity, the motion for removal will be taken up for consideration and debated. |
| Parliamentary approval requirement | Special majority in both Houses: 2/3 majority of members present and voting, and a majority of total membership. |
| Presidential action | Judges can be removed only by an order of the President, based on a motion passed by both Houses of Parliament. |