However, the Congress has collected 65 seats - 15 more than the minimum - to initiate proceedings against CJI Dipak Misra
In a bid to move impeachment proceedings against Supreme Court Chief Justice Dipak Misra, the Congress, the largest party in the Opposition, has collected 65 signatures – 15 more than the minimum requirement to move a proposal to impeach CJI Misra, Hindustan Times reported. However, the report adds that the Congress is waiting for a broader consensus within Opposition ranks on the issue.
However, a report by The Hindu believes that the impeachment motion against CJI Misra may fizzle out, as key parties are yet to make up their mind.
That report adds that several parties such as the Trinamool Congress which has 12 members in the upper house, Biju Janata Dal (8), DMK (4) have not signed the petition.
Earlier, the Samajwadi Party (SP) on Wednesday supported Opposition's proposal to move an impeachment motion against Chief Justice of India Dipak Misra. "The Samajwadi Party stands with the impeachment motion, which is about bringing independence and unquestionable integrity to the judiciary," SP leader Ghanshyam Tiwari told ANI.
Last week, Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) leader D.P. Tripathi said that opposition parties, including the Congress, have initiated the process to impeach the CJI.
"A lot of opposition parties have signed the draft proposal for moving an impeachment motion against CJI Dipak Misra. Many parties like Nationalist Congress Party (NCP), Left parties and I think TMC and Congress have also signed it," NCP General Secretary D.P. Tripathi told ANI.
Mamata Banerjee told reporters, “I can only say that Trinamool Congress will go with whatever decision the other parties take on the impeachment of the CJI. After all, one cannot ignore what the four judges had to say.”
The development came after West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee's meeting with senior lawyer Prashant Bhushan earlier in the day to discuss a possible impeachment motion against the CJI.
The impeachment motion is in relation to the CJI's handling of the matters raised by four Supreme Court judges in a press conference on January 11.
Justices Jasti Chelameswar, Ranjan Gogoi, M.B. Lokur and Kurien Joseph had earlier this year said Misra was assigning important cases in an arbitrary manner to junior judges, ignoring these four senior judges.
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