CJI Impeachment Crisis LIVE: Court Refused to Reveal Who Referred Case to Constitution Bench, Says Sibal

A copy of the writ petition filed by the two Congress MPs.

“We don’t have any personal problem with the Chief Justice of India. We are just worried about the judiciary. We want to protect the dignity of the court. It’s the government which is levelling allegations against us,” says Kapil Sibal.

Congress leader Kapil Sibal is addressing a press conference on the withdrawal of appeal over the CJI’s impeachment. “We were earlier told to come to the Supreme Court for the hearing. The time given was for today. Yesterday evening we were told that the hearing today will happen in front of a Constitution Bench. No judicial order was passed. The court refused to tell us who passed the order for our case to be referred to a Constitution Bench,” says Sibal.

Advocate Prashant Bhushan says it’s unfortunate that the court even refused to share a copy of the administrative order by which the five-judge Constitution Bench was formed to hear the matter. “It has never happened that a writ petition has been brought to a Constitution Bench before a judicial order is passed."

Attorney General KK Venugopal has questioned the maintainability of the petition. “Why have only two Congress MPs come? I will presume only the Congress is aggrieved. Other six parties have accepted (Rajya Sabha Chairman) Venkaiah Naidu's decision,” he says.

Attorney General KK Venugopal has questioned the maintainability of the petition. “Why have only two Congress MPs come? I will presume only the Congress is aggrieved. Other six parties have accepted (Rajya Sabha Chairman) Venkaiah Naidu's decision,” he says.

The Congress MPs’ plea challenging the rejection of the impeachment notice against Chief Justice of India Dipak Misra has been dismissed as withdrawn. Kapil Sibal, appearing for the lawmakers, withdrew the petition after the Supreme Court refused to share the administrative order by which the five-judge Constitution Bench was formed. None of the senior-most judges — Justices Jasti Chelameswar, Ranjan Gogoi, MB Lokur and Kurian Jospeh — who had held the controversial January 12 press conference were part of the Bench.

Justice Chelameswar Says Law Has Changed Lately | In an intriguing comment, Justice J Chelameswar on Monday said the law that nobody will be a judge in his own cause has perhaps undergone changes "in last few months". The judge’s remarks came when he was told by senior advocate Kapil Sibal that Chief Justice of India Dipak Misra cannot assume the role of the ‘master of roster’ when the petition seeks initiation of the impeachment proceedings against the CJI himself.“When the petition is against the master of the roster himself, he cannot exercise the power to decide how this case will be heard and by which bench. Law in this country has been that nobody can be a judge in his own cause,” said Sibal. But Justice Chelameswar retorted: “I think the law you are talking about has undergone modification in the last few months.” 

Sources told CNN-News18 that it is upon the orders of CJI Dipak Misra that the five-judge bench has been set up.

Attorney General K K Venugopal to attend impeachment hearing

MeT Dept Issues 'Amber' Alert in 8 States | The MeT Department has issued an amber-coloured alert, which is reserved for severe weather, in Delhi, Chandigarh, Jammu and Kashmir, Uttarakhand, Himachal Pradesh, Haryana, western Uttar Pradesh, Sikkim and West Bengal. The alert comes as dust storms were reported early on Tuesday in Rajasthan’s Jaipur and Jodhpur, and Uttar Pradesh’s Baghpat and Saharanpur. The Delhi-NCR region was also hit by a dust storm with a wind speed of 70 km per hour late on Monday, followed by a squall. The high-velocity wind swept through Delhi around 11.15 pm, PTI quoted an official at the Safdarjung observatory as saying. In Baghpat, the storm cut off the power supply to several areas, while essential services like hospitals and rescue personnel were put on alert in Saharanpur. 

In the petition, the two MPs claimed that the reasons given were "wholly extraneous" and not legally tenable. While Justice Chelameswar had initially asked him to mention the matter before the CJI, the bench, also comprising Justice SK Kaul, later asked Sibal and Bhushan to "come back tomorrow". Justice Chelameswar also said he was on the verge of retirement. Making his submissions, Sibal said Naidu cannot summarily reject the notice bearing signatures of 64 MPs and seven former members who had recently retired, on the ground that there was "no proved misbehaviour".The bench asked Sibal and Bhushan to mention the matter before the Chief Justice of India for urgent listing, citing a Constitution Bench judgment on the powers of master of roster. However, BJP leaders and advocates Meenakshi Lekhi and Aman Sinha told the Press Trust of India that there was no merit in the challenge to the rejection of the impeachment notice as the Rajya Sabha Chairman's order was well-reasoned and completely dealt with each and every ground.

The senior-most judges — Justices Jasti Chelameswar, Ranjan Gogoi, MB Lokur and Kurian Jospeh — who had held the controversial January 12 press conference in which they had virtually rebelled against the CJI by raising a litany of allegations against him, are not on the bench. The setting up of the Constitution Bench was mentioned in Tuesday’s list of business for the Supreme Court. The development came hours after Justice Chelameswar, before whom the petition of the two Congress MPs was mentioned, expressed reservation in hearing the matter asking senior advocate Kapil Sibal and advocate Prashant Bhushan to "come back tomorrow".

Congress MPs' Plea Up for Hearing, No 'Rebel' Judge on Constitution Bench | A five-judge Constitution Bench of the Supreme Court will Today hear a petition moved by two Congress MPs challenging rejection of the impeachment notice against Chief Justice of India Dipak Misra by Rajya Sabha Chairman M Venkaiah Naidu. The bench will be headed by Justice AK Sikri, number six in seniority. The other members are Justices SA Bobde, NV Ramana, Arun Mishra and AK Goel, who are next in the sequence of seniority.

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