Congress MP sends 'reminder' to Rajya Sabha chair on pending impeachment motion against Justice Shekhar Yadav
Congress leader and Rajya Sabha member Vivek Tankha has written to Vice President Jagdeep Dhankhar, chairman of the Upper House, to remind him about a pending motion, signed by 55 MPs, seeking the removal of Justice Shekhar Yadav of the Allahabad High Court on the grounds 'of alleged misbehaviour unbecoming of a judge'.
'Queries were raised regarding the authenticity of some signatures, including that of my signature. I have clarified, and supposedly other MPs must have clarified to the Rajya Sabha Secretariat that the signatures are genuine and correct. MPs signed in the presence of each other on three sets of the representation in the House itself…' Mr. Tankha said in his letter, dated June 12.
He said that senior Opposition MPs had been present, including P. Chidambaram and Digvijaya Singh of the Congress, Independent Kapil Sibal, John Brittas of the Communist Party of India (Marxist), the Rashtriya Janata Dal's Manoj Jha, and P. Wilson of the Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam. In all, 55 Opposition MPs had moved an impeachment motion against Justice Yadav on December 13, 2024, for allegedly making 'communal' remarks within the court's premises.
'We request that due consideration be given to the pendency of this motion, as it reflects the collective concern of Members of this august House,' Mr. Tankha said.
Parliamentary inquiry needed
The Congress MP also voiced his opposition to the Union government's plan to remove Justice Yashwant Varma, who was indicted by a three-member committee set up by the former Chief Justice of India Sanjiv Khanna.
In March, a large quantity of half-burnt currency notes were recovered during a fire at Justice Varma's official residence while he was serving as a Delhi High Court judge. The Supreme Court then moved him to the Allahabad High Court and took away all his judicial work after an in-house inquiry indicted Justice Varma. Now, the government has reached out to political parties to move a motion to remove Justice Varma on the basis of the Supreme Court's in-house inquiry report.
'The in-house Committee report is only meant for the Chief Justice of India and other judges of the Supreme Court, and cannot constitute the basis for removal,' Mr. Tankha said, arguing that Parliament must conduct a fresh inquiry under the Judges Inquiry Act.
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