CJI Impeachment: Sibal Asks Who Passed Order to Form 5-Judge Bench
Kapil Sibal withdrew the case after the judges refused to provide information on how the 5-judge bench was set up.
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Five-Judge Bench to Hear Petition Today
A five-judge constitution bench has been constituted in the Supreme Court to hear the petition moved by two Congress Rajya Sabha MPs challenging the rejection of the impeachment notice against Chief Justice of India Dipak Misra by Rajya Sabha Chairperson and Vice President M Venkaiah Naidu, on Tuesday, 8 May.
The list of business for the Supreme Court showed that the petition, which was mentioned on Monday, 7 May, would be heard on Tuesday by a bench comprising Justices AK Sikri, SA Bobde, NV Ramana, Arun Mishra, and AK Goel.
While Justice Sikri, who will head the bench, is number six in the seniority list, others follow him in the sequence of seniority.
Earlier in the day, senior advocate Kapil Sibal, who was one of the signatories to the impeachment notice in the Rajya Sabha, had mentioned the matter for urgent listing before a bench headed by Justice J Chelameswar, the senior-most after CJI Misra.
While Justice Chelameswar initially asked him to mention the matter before the CJI, the bench, also comprising Justice SK Kaul, later asked Sibal and advocate Prashant Bhushan to "come back tomorrow.”
4 Senior-Most SC Judges Not Part of Constitution Bench
It is significant to note that none of the four senior-most judges of the Supreme Court after the CJI – Justices J Chelameswar, Ranjan Gogoi, MB Lokur and Kurian Jospeh – are part of the 5-judge constitution bench set up to hear the petition challenging the rejection of the impeachment notice against Chief Justice of India Dipak Misra.
For the first time in the history of the Indian judiciary, the top-four judges of the SC had on 12 January this year held a press conference where they had raised some concerns over the rostering of cases by the CJI.
Hearing Begins
Commencing arguments for the petitioners, senior lawyer Kapil Sibal said that while the CJI’s power as the master of the roster is undisputed, the manner in which he exercised the power was questionable.
According to Live Law, Sibal said:
Responding to Sibal’s arguments, Justice AK Sikri said that the bench had "reserved the judgment on the powers of the master of roster."
Meanwhile, Sibal questioned how the current constitution bench hearing the matter was set up.
Questioning how a petition that was yet to be admitted was referred to a constitution bench, Sibal said they were entitled to see the reference order.
He further stated that a reference to the constitution bench can be done only through a judicial order.
RP Luthra Challenges Sibal's Appearance
Meanwhile, advocate RP Luthra challenged Sibal’s appearance on behalf of the petitioners in the matter. Responding to Luthra, the bench said:
Kapil Sibal Withdraws Plea, Case Dismissed
The five-judge Constitution bench dismissed the petition filed by the Congress Rajya Sabha MPs as withdrawn.
The petitioners, represented by Kapil Sibal, withdrew the case after the judges refused to provide them with information on how the five-judge bench was set up. Concerns had been raised that the CJI himself decided which judges would hear the case.
'Unprecendented Situation': AK Sikri
Terming the setting up of the constitution bench an ‘unprecedented situation,' Justice AK Sikri said that the matter had come to the five-judge bench as the four other senior judges had "a role to play in the whole episode."
Kapil Sibal Addresses Media Post Plea Dismissal
The Congress questioned the setting up of a five-judge bench to hear a petition challenging rejection of the impeachment notice against Chief Justice of India Dipak Misra and dismissed allegations that the plea, filed by two party MPs, was “political”.
The party was for protecting “dignity and independence” of the courts, senior Congress leader and advocate Kapil Sibal said while pitching for transparency in the judicial process.
During the hearing, Sibal raised questions on the setting up of the constitution bench, including who passed the order for setting up the five-judge bench to hear the matter.
Sibal had also sought of a copy of the order on setting up of the bench.
He added that the petitioners intended to challenge the order of setting up of the bench.
The former Union minister also said the Congress had no "personal complaint" against anyone and dismissed the “government's allegation” that the petition was a “political matter”.
Congress Fishing in Trobuled Waters: Jaitley on CJI Impeachment Issue
Finance Minister Arun Jaitley on Tuesday, 8 May accused the Congress of fishing in troubled waters and adopting a fringe position over the issue of impeachment of the Chief Justice of India which he said will hurt immediately the party in the Karnataka elections.
"Finding a divided court, the Congress wanted to fish in troubled waters. If the motion for impeachment was unsustainable, the writ petition challenging the order of the Chairman, Rajya Sabha, was unarguable," Jaitley wrote in a hard-hitting Facebook post.
Advocate Prasahan Bhushan Files RTI
Advocate Prashant Bhushan on Tuesday filed an RTI seeking a copy of the administrative order constituting a five-judge constitution bench to hear the impeachment case against the CJI, hours after the Supreme Court showed reluctance to part with it.
In his RTI application, Bhushan has sought information from the central public information officer of the Supreme Court regarding the listing of the case before a five-judge constitution bench, and also who had passed the administrative order.
On Tuesday, 8 May, senior Congress leader and advocate Kapil Sibal withdrew the petition challenging the rejection of the impeachment notice against CJI Dipak Misra.
Sibal, who was representing the petitioners, questioned how the five-judge SC Constitution Bench was formed. When the SC refused to give an answer, he withdrew the plea.
- Kapil Sibal withdrew the plea challenging the rejection of the impeachment motion against CJI Dipak Misra on Tuesday
- Sibal sought a reply from the apex court on how the Constitution Bench was formed. When he was refused an answer, he withdrew the petition
- Since the merits of the plea were not argued, there is a possibility that a fresh petition can be filed
- In a blog post, Arun Jaitley attacked the Congress saying that they were “fishing in troubled waters”
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