Removal of a High Court (HC) judge
Why in news?
Recently, there have been political moves to initiate impeachment proceedings against certain High Court judges, such as Justice G R Swaminathan of the Madras High Court, following controversies and allegations. However, no High Court judge has been successfully impeached so far in India.​
About
The removal of a High Court (HC) judge can only occur through a constitutional process known as impeachment, which requires proven misbehaviour or incapacity as grounds for removal.
This process is governed by Article 218 of the Indian Constitution and the Judges (Inquiry) Act, 1968.​
Procedure for Removal
- A motion for removal must be signed by at least 100 members of the Lok Sabha or 50 members of the Rajya Sabha and submitted to the Speaker or Chairman.​
- The Speaker or Chairman may admit or reject the motion after due consideration.​
- If admitted, a three-member committee is formed, consisting of a Supreme Court judge, a High Court judge, and a distinguished jurist, to investigate the allegations.​
- If the committee finds the judge guilty of misbehaviour or incapacity, its report is presented to both Houses of Parliament.​
- Both Houses must pass the motion by a special majority—majority of the total membership and at least two-thirds of members present and voting.​
- If both Houses approve, an address is presented to the President, who then issues an order for the judge's removal.​
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