Chandigarh April 21, 2018. Sh. Satya Pal Jain, Ex-MP, Additional Solicitor General of India and a Member of the Law Commission of India has said that the so called impeachment motion submitted by the Leaders of the Congress against the Chief Justice of India is not only very unfortunate but also politically motivated and seems to be an attempt to intimidate the Judiciary and give a message to them that if you don’t decide cases as per their wishes, they will indulge in character assassination of the Judges.
In an interview to a news agency, Sh. Jain said that the movers of the so called impeachment motion know it very well that they do not have the strength required for even moving it in Lok Sabha, what to talk of getting it passed, but still they have chosen to move it. He said that such a motion can be moved in Lok Sabha only by atleast 100 members whereas the Congress has only 44 members in the Lok Sabha, which is why they have moved it in Rajya Sabha where it can be moved only with 50 members. The allegations levelled against the Chief Justice do not amount to and are not even remotely akin to anything called as misconduct or mis-behaviour of a Judge.
He said that as per Article 124(4) of the Constitution of India, the impeachment motion can be passed by both Houses of Parliament by atleast 2/3rd of the members present and voting but not less than simple majority of both the Houses separately. He said that it cannot be imagined that the movers are unaware of this article and, therefore, their action of still moving it indicates their mindset of insulting, humiliating and intimidating the judiciary. He said that in this country, the Judicial Officers have delivered verdict as per their wisdom which may or may not be to the liking of all concerned but the nation has maintained respect and regard for the judiciary. The Constitution expects Judges to perform their job and to do justice without fear or favour and without ill-will or affection. Unfortunately, it seems that the Congress Leaders have lost faith in this basic principle of Parliamentary Democracy and have started resorting to such tactics with a view to malign the judiciary.
Mr. Jain said that the recent act of moving the so called impeachment motion completes the circle of the Congress Party having lost faith in the Indian Parliamentary Democracy’s functioning. First, they attacked the executive, i.e. the Prime Minister and his colleagues by trying to malign him, thereafter they did not allow the Parliament, that is, the Legislature, to function even for a day and now with their latest move, they are trying to intimidate the judiciary also.
Mr. Jain said that the Indian Judiciary has faced such type of onslaught from various quarters earlier also but it has proved its independence over the years. He said that the people of this country will not allow these types of contemptuous moves of the Congress to succeed.
