Impeachment: What is an impeachment motion, how is it brought? How are Supreme Court and High Court judges removed from office? Let us know what is impeachment, who can use it and what is its procedure.

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Delhi High Court judge Yashwant Verma has been in the news ever since a huge amount of cash was found in his official residence. Meanwhile, there is news that the central government is considering the option of bringing an impeachment motion against Verma in the monsoon session. According to sources, if Justice Verma does not resign himself, then bringing an impeachment motion in Parliament is a clear option. This proposal will be to remove Judge Verma from the post. In such a situation, let us know what is impeachment, who can use it and what is its process.

Actually impeachment is a process that is used to remove the President and the judges of the Supreme Court or High Court. This process is usually started when violation of the Constitution, misbehavior or incompetence has been proved against an officer. It is mentioned in Articles 61, 124 (4), (5), 217 and 218 of the Constitution.

The procedure is prescribed in the Constitution
The procedure for impeachment of a Supreme Court judge is prescribed in Article 124(4) of the Constitution. Article 218 of the Constitution states that the same provisions apply to High Court judges as well. According to Article 124(4), a judge can be removed only on the basis of proven misconduct and incapacity through the procedure prescribed by Parliament.

It is necessary to pass both the Houses in the same session
According to the rules, the impeachment motion can be brought in any House of Parliament, Lok Sabha or Rajya Sabha. It is necessary to pass it in both the Houses in the same session. There is a long process from the presentation of this motion to the approval of the President. The impeachment motion has to be first made in the Parliament. To present it in the Lok Sabha, signatures of at least 100 MPs and in the Rajya Sabha, signatures of at least 50 MPs are required.

The allegations are investigated

After this, if the speaker or chairman of that house accepts that proposal (can also reject it), then a three-member committee is formed to investigate the allegations. That committee includes a Supreme Court judge, a High Court Chief Justice and one eminent legal expert. This committee investigates the allegations against the judge and submits its report to the speaker or chairman who presents it in his house.

Only the President has the authority

If the allegations against the judge are found to be true in the committee’s investigation report, then a proposal to remove the judge is put up for debate and voting in the Parliament. To remove the judge, it is necessary that the relevant proposal is passed by a two-thirds majority. For the proposal to be passed, it must get the support of the majority of the total MPs of the house or at least two-thirds of the MPs who vote. If this proposal is passed in both the houses, then it is sent to the President for approval. Only the President has the right to remove a judge. After getting his approval, the concerned judge is removed from the post.

No judge has been removed till date

No judge has been removed till date in India through impeachment. Because in all the cases before this, the proceedings could never be completed. Either the proposal did not get the majority or the judges resigned from their posts before that. So far, 6 attempts have been made to remove judges in the country. But none of these attempts have been successful. Supreme Court judge V. Ramaswami is considered to be the first judge to face impeachment. An impeachment motion was brought against him in May 1993. This motion could not be passed in the Lok Sabha because the Congress, which was in power at that time, did not participate in the voting and the motion could not get two-thirds majority.

On the other hand, Kolkata High Court judge Soumitra Sen was the second judge in the country who had to face impeachment for misbehavior in 2011. This is the only impeachment case in India that passed in the Rajya Sabha and reached the Lok Sabha. However, Justice Sen resigned before voting on this in the Lok Sabha. That is, only in the case of Justice Ramaswami and Justice Sen, the investigation committee found the allegations to be true. Out of six attempts, allegations of financial irregularities were made in five. Whereas, allegations of sexual misconduct were made in only one.