CJI Dipak Misra impeachment: Five-judge bench to hear Congress' plea today

A five-judge constitution bench of the Supreme Court will hear a plea filed by the Congress against Vice President and Rajya Sabha Chairman Venkaiah Naidu’s dismissal of the impeachment motion notice against Chief Justice of India (CJI) Dipak Misra.

On Monday, CJI Misra had set up a five-judge constitution bench, comprising Justices AK Sikri, SA Bobde, NV Ramana, Arun Mishra and AK Goel, to hear the petition challenging rejection of his removal.

Two Congress MPs from Rajya Sabha - Pratap Singh Bajwa and Amee Harshadray Yajnik filed a petition in the apex court challenging Naidu's dismissal of the impeachment notice against the CJI.

In their petition, the Congress MPs said that the decision by the Rajya Sabha Chairman was "illegal and arbitrary" and taken in a "cavalier, cryptic and abrupt manner".

The Congress MPs argued that once the initiation of impeachment motion is signed by the requisite number of Members of Parliament, the Vice-President has no option but shall constitute an Inquiry Committee to investigate the allegations against the CJI Misra.

Reacting to the Congress approaching the apex court, challenging the rejection of the impeachment notice against CJI Misra, the BJP said that the move was a “deceptive methodology” to constantly remain in news.

“This is a deceptive methodology adopted by the opposition, because neither the facts, nor the law is on their side,” BJP MP Meenakshi Lekhi said.

Lekhi said that the Vice President's discretion can't be questioned and the petition by Congress didn't give even a single instance to support their contention.

“There is no merit in the case because the decision of the vice president is based on facts that cannot be disputed. His discretion cannot be questioned. The petition itself uses words like may be, likely and appears to be unsure of its contents. This is only a gimmick,” she added.