RS chairperson admits impeachment motion against MP judge

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.