Impeachment Motion Against Justice Yadav Over Majoritarian Remarks Clears Signature Mark, Awaits Rajya Sabha Chairman’s Call

The impeachment motion against Allahabad High Court judge Justice Shekhar Yadav, initiated by 54 Rajya Sabha MPs over his allegedly controversial remarks at a Vishwa Hindu Parishad (VHP) event, has cleared the legal threshold of 50 valid signatories, The Indian Express reported.

However, only 44 of the MPs have formally verified their signatures with the Rajya Sabha Secretariat, which is continuing efforts to complete the verification process.

Justice Yadav had said during the VHP event in December last year, “I have no hesitation in saying that this is Hindustan… and the country will run according to the majority who live in Hindustan.”

The motion was submitted on 13 December 2024 under the Judges (Inquiry) Act, 1968. Signature verification was triggered after discrepancies were found in nine of the original 55 endorsements.

One MP, Sarfaraz Ahmed, had inadvertently signed twice, reducing the final count to 54.

So far, 29 MPs have verified their signatures in person with the Rajya Sabha Chairman, and another 14 have done so over the phone.

Among those yet to complete the process are senior advocates and MPs like Kapil Sibal and P Chidambaram.

“If the Chairman is not able to confirm the signatures, he should reject it. So that we can go to the Supreme Court,” Sibal remarked.

Chairman Jagdeep Dhankhar has not acted on the notice yet. As per the law, there is no stipulated timeline for a decision.

“The jurisdiction for the stated subject matter constitutionally lies exclusively with the Chairman, Rajya Sabha,” Dhankhar told the Upper House on 13 February.

The Secretariat has also asked MPs to authenticate annexed materials, including news clippings and video links, that support the charge of “outrageous” statements by Justice Yadav.

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