NEW DELHI: India’s vice president on Monday rejected an unprecedentedpetition by seven opposition parties to impeach the top judge for“misbehavior”, saying that the allegations were “neither tenable noradmissible”.
The decision of Vice President M Venkaiah Naidu, who chairs the upper houseof parliament, was a relief for Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s government,which had called it a “revenge petition” moved in response to a reprievethe ruling party’s chief won from the Supreme Court in another case.
The petition to impeach Chief Justice Dipak Misra for “acts ofmisbehaviour” and misuse of authority was signed by 64 serving members ofthe upper house. It had also accused him of arbitrarily using his power toallow sensitive cases and questioned his conduct in the acquisition of land.
“The allegations emerging from the present case have a serious tendency ofundermining the independence of judiciary which is the basic tenet of theConstitution of India,” Naidu said in a signed order shared withjournalists.
“Considering the totality of facts, I am of the firm opinion that it isneither legal nor desirable or proper to admit the notice of motion on anyof these grounds.”
Misra came under a cloud in January when the four next highest-rankingjudges in the Supreme Court criticized his distribution of cases and raisedconcerns about judicial appointments.