Union Finance Minister Arun Jaitley on Thursday accused the Congress and other Opposition parties using impeachment as a political tool and termed it 'threat to judicial independence'.

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Opposition parties led by the Congress met Vice President and Rajya Sabha chairman M Venkaiah Naidu and handed over a notice for impeachment of Chief Justice of India Dipak Misra.

The MPs who signed the notice belong to the Congress, the NCP, the CPI-M and CPI, the SP and the BSP. The leaders of these parties earlier met in Parliament and gave final shape to the notice for impeachment.

"If intimidatory tactics of “Institution Disruptors” and impeachment motion are threats to judicial independence, the single greatest threat is the divided court itself," Jaitley said in a Facebook post. 

"My preliminary reaction to the impeachment motion filed today is clear. It is a revenge petition after the falsehood of the Congress Party has been established in the Justice Loya death case. It is an attempt to intimidate a Judge and send a message to other Judges, that if you don't agree with us, fifty MP's are enough for a revenge action," Jaitley wrote in a post on Facebook.

In his attack, the Union Minister also took lawyers and media into the fold, saying that some lawyers who pick up causes in public interest and pursue them, have graduated into 'Institution Disruptors', and have found strong allies in a section of the media and the Congress Party.

If intimidatory tactics of “Institution Disruptors” and impeachment motion are threats to judicial independence, the single greatest threat is the divided court itself

Impeachment should not be allowed to be used as political tool.

The “Institution Disruptors”

Most courts in India have a set of crusading lawyers who pick-up causes in public interest and pursue them. That is perfectly acceptable. But over the last few years one has witnessed the evolution of these public interest crusaders graduating into “Institution Disruptors”. They pick-up even false causes and pursue the falsehood with a sense of deep commitment, indulge in intimidating advocacy, are shrill with their opposing colleagues, are rude and impolite with the judges. They firmly believe that every falsehood that they propound must be accepted as the gospel truth.

They have found two strong allies. A section of the media gives them publicity. Simultaneously, we have witnessed the devolution of the Congress from a mainstream party now taking fringe positions. The Party through its lawyers or otherwise, is too willing to identify with these “Institution Disruptors” and thus intimidation of courts has become the new form of advocacy. A divided court is finding itself helpless to respond to these intimidatory tactics. The judgement indicates that intidimatory tactics were used as an alternative to one sided set of facts in the case. The “Institution Disruptors” have now become spokespersons of the Judge Loya death case falsehood.

The Impeachment Weapon

The impeachment of a Judge of the Supreme Court is to be done only in the case of either his “incapacity” or on “proven misconduct”. The Congress Party and its friends have started using impeachment as a political tool. Impeachment is a process by which you remove the holder of office in order to protect the dignity of an office.

The power of impeachment under our Constitution is a part of an inter-institutional accountability. Both Houses of Parliament as political houses have been conferred the judicial power of impeachment. Thus a judicial power is exercised by a political house. Each Member has to act as a Judge. He has to independently review the facts and the evidence. Decisions cannot be on party lines or dictated by Whip. The power is exercised in case of “proven misconduct”. Trivialising the use of that power is a dangerous event.

It is not difficult to collect fifty signatures of Rajya Sabha or hundred signatures of Lok Sabha members even on frivolous issues. To use the power as intimidatory tactics when neither you have a case of “proven misconduct” or the numbers on your side, is a serious threat to judicial independence. My preliminary reaction to the impeachment motion filed today is clear. It is a revenge petition after the falsehood of the Congress Party has been established in the Justice Loya death case. It is an attempt to intimidate a Judge and send a message to other Judges, that if you don’t agree with us, fifty MP’s are enough for a revenge action. The charges read out are issues those which have been settled by judicial orders or by precedent. Some issues are stale, trivial and have nothing to do with judicial functions. 

A Divided Court

If intimidatory tactics of “Institution Disruptors” and impeachment motion are threats to judicial independence, the single greatest threat is the divided court itself. Now that the conspiracy of falsehood of the Judge Loya death case stands conclusively established, a few thoughts come to my mind. The four judges of the Supreme Court who held the controversial Press Conference, are all experienced judges and in my view men of high integrity. Had they checked up the facts of Judge Loya case before commenting on it, even though only on a listing issue? Should anyone at all be commenting on a pending case because many comments created an environment of prejudice and even added credibility to utter falsehood as they did in the present case? Is the impeachment motion filed today a direct result of the press conference? Does this impeachment set a precedent that political parties in India will use impeachment as an instrument to intimidate judges hearing controversial matters?

What has happened today is a price the Indian judiciary has to pay for misadventures of many. There is no better time for judicial statesmanship and political foresight.