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AM Jigeesh
The Left parties were the first to demand the impeachment of Supreme Court Chief Justice Dipak Misra soon after the press conference of four senior-most judges. All MPs of the CPI(M) and the CPI in the Rajya Sabha had signed on the notice to impeach Misra, which was rejected by House Chairman Venkaiah Naidu. Senior MP and CPI national secretary D Raja spoke to BusinessLine on the next moves of the Opposition and the reasons for taking such an unprecedented step.
Your notice has been rejected by the Vice-President. What is your next step?
The way the Chairman has rejected the notice has raised several questions. The political parties and Members of Parliament concerned will have to collectively decide the future course. We have to share our views and decide on the future course of action. We will consult among Left and all other parties soon.
What necessitated this rare action?
It is not a rare action. Earlier also such motions have been moved and passed against other judges. Parliament is the supreme forum in our democracy. It represents the will of the people and makes the laws. If the judiciary is going through a crisis, Parliament cannot keep quiet. Judges who addressed a press conference said democracy is in crisis. It was a rare action from them. The question is also about judicial accountability.
Many judgments are coming out. People have questions about such judgments. For example, the two-judge verdict on the SC-ST Act. The judgment virtually made the existing law redundant. How will one explain it? The judgment on Mecca Masjid blast is another example. All the accused were acquitted. If courts do not find solid evidence, they can take such decisions. But the question remains — who orchestrated the blast? Who was behind it? Nobody knows. The judicial delivery mechanism, investigation, prosecution and other mechanisms are in problem. People are killed in big numbers and all the accused are acquitted.
So it is not just on Justice Misra?
No. Justice Karnan had also raised certain questions. That should have been a wake-up call but nobody gave attention to it. Judges recuse themselves from certain cases. Why? A judge is supposed to be neutral — why does he have to recuse from a case? So there needs a revamp on the whole process — selection of judges, collegium etc.
Do you think impeachment is the only remedy to address these issues?
No. But why is there such a provision in Constitution if it should not be used? Parliament will try to use all the instruments available. No one says that it will solve the problem. The motion to impeach Justice Soumitra Sen was passed in Rajya Sabha but the entire exercise was futile as he decided to resign. But it helped us to raise certain questions. A Chief Justice is supposed to lead a team of justice. There were a lot of complaints. But the system stood affected. For the common people, judiciary is the last hope. When judiciary is in crisis, it is bad news for the common people.
BJP says the whole exercise was politically motivated…
If the BJP thinks the work of Parliament is political, then it is political. We are using an instrument available for MPs. If a Parliament procedure is dubbed as political, how will we exercise such provisions? The matter we are raising must be of concern to the BJP too. We are talking about overhauling our system and ensuring justice to all people. It means the BJP has no concern for what is happening in our courts. It seems to be happy with the way things are happening.
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