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Context

Rejection of impeachment motion by Chairman of Rajya Sabha

The controversy: Can a presiding officer reject the motion?

• Section 3 of the Judges (Inquiry) Act, 1968, says the presiding officer may admit or refuse to admit the motion after holding consultations with such persons as he thinks fit, and considering the material before him
• The law is open to interpretation on whether he can reject the motion on merits without sending the charges to a committee for investigation

Chairman’s view

• Rajya Sabha Chairman said that there is little merit in any of the five charges as he has considered the implications for judicial independence if an investigation were ordered into charges that he says are based on mere suspicion and conjecture
• Legal arguments cited: he has cited the Supreme Court ruling in  Krishna Swami v. Union of India (1992), which directed the Speaker (or Chairman) to act with utmost care, circumspection and responsibility and to keep equally in mind “the seriousness of the imputations, nature and quality of the record before him, and the indelible chilling effect on the public administration of justice and the independence of the judiciary in the estimate of the general public”.
  • He has also gone by Mehar Singh Saini (2010) to elaborate on the phrase “proved misbehaviour or incapacity”, used in Article 124(4) of the Constitution, the ground for impeachment of a Supreme Court judge