BJP accuses Congress of 'forum hunting'

Accusing the Congress of "forum hunting" when it decided to withdraw its petition challenging the Rajya Sabha chairman's rejection of the motion of impeachment against CJI Dipak Misra ostensibly as it was looking for a "favourble" bench, Union minister Arun Jaitley branded the grand old party as a "fringe".

Calling the impeachment motion against the CJI as "wholly misconceived" "poorly drafted" and devoid of substance, Jaitley said, "If the motion for impeachment was unsustainable, the writ petition challenging the order of the Rajya Sabha chairman was unarguable."

Defending Vice-President Venkaiah Naidu, Jaitley said, "The rejection of a motion by a Speaker or the Chairman is a part of the legislative process. It was a well-reasoned order. The rulings of the Chair on whether to admit a motion or otherwise, are not subject to judicial review."

Advocate Prashant Bhushan filed an RTI seeking a copy of the administrative order, hours after the SC showed reluctance to part with it. "Kindly provide me the copy of the order and allow me to inspect the concerned file along with any file noting concerning the said order," the RTI said.

Congress leader Kapil Sibal said there was no politics behind the petition challenging the rejection of the impeachment notice against CJI. "The sole purpose was to ensure independence of the judiciary and maintain dignity of the court. There was nothing personal against anyone in the court," Sibal said.

Accusing the Congress of wanting to "fish in troubled waters," Jaitley said the party chose to go for hunting for "a court of its choice". "The larger question is will the Congress party like to run its failed politics by forcing the involvement of judiciary and politicising it?," asked BJP spokesperson and supreme Court advocate Nalin Kohli.

– With Agency Inputs