Headlines
RS chairperson admits impeachment motion against MP judge
New Delhi, March 25
Rajya Sabha chairperson
Hamid Ansari has admitted a motion of impeachment moved by 58 members of
the house against Madhya Pradesh High Court judge S.K. Gangele who has
been accused of sexually harassing a woman judge in Gwalior.
The
MPs had earlier this month submitted the motion to Ansari for initiating
the impeachment process of Justice Gangele, who is now serving in the
principal bench in Jabalpur.
A Rajya Sabha bulletin said: "The
chairman has, under section 3 of the Judges (Inquiry) Act, 1968,
admitted the following motion received from Shrimati Wansuk Syiem and
other members (total 58) the notice of which was given under Article 217
read with Article 124 (4) of the Constitution."
The motion lists
three "grounds of misconduct" for impeachment: "sexual harassment" of
the woman judge, "victimisation" of the judge "for not submitting to his
illegal and immoral demands", including, but not limited to,
transferring her from Gwalior to Sidhi, and "misusing" his position as
the administrative judge of the high court to use the subordinate
judiciary to victimise the judge.
The signatories include
Digvijaya Singh (Congress), Sitaram Yechury (CPI-M), Derek O' Brien
(Trinamool Congress), Ram Gopal Yadav and Jaya Bachchan (Samajwadi
Party), Satish Mishra (Bahujan Samaj Party), Anu Aga and H.K. Dua.
As per the rules, at least 50 members have to give notice for impeachment of any judge of a high court or the Supreme Court.
If
the Rajya Sabha takes up the impeachment motion, it will be the third
such case in parliament's history and the second in the upper house.