Congress MPs Withdraw Petition Challenging Naidu’s Rejection Of CJI Removal Motion

The two Members of Parliament (MPs) from the Congress party, who had moved the Supreme Court challenging the rejection of the removal notice against the Chief Justice of India Dipak Misra by Rajya Sabha Chairman M Venkaiah Naidu, withdrew their petition today, Times of India has reported.

The petition - filed by MPs Pratap Singh Bajwa and Amee Harshadray Yajnik - was dismissed as withdrawn by the top court today.

In their plea, the two members have claimed that the Rajya Sabha chairman does not have any option but to constitute a committee to investigate the allegations against the CJI once the required number of MPs sign the motion.

Naidu had on 24 April rejected the notice signed by 71 MPs and submitted to him by the Congress on 20 April. The Vice President had cited the absence of any “proved misbehaviour” against the CJI to dismiss the request. Congress leader and former Human Resource Development Minister Kapil Sibal had termed Naidu’s order as “unprecedented, illegal, ill-advised and hasty”.

Sibal and advocate Prashant Bhushan mentioned the plea for urgent listing before Justice Chelameswar and said that the senior-most judge can direct for the listing of the petition as the impeachment notice was against the CJI.

The apex court bench of Justices J Chelameswar and S K Kaul had not passed any order and asked the Congress leaders to “come back tomorrow”.

The petition was listed on Tuesday before a constitution bench comprising Justices A K Sikri, S A Bobde, N V Ramana, Arun Mishra and A K Goel. The bench had judges from number six to ten in the apex court’s seniority list.