Relief for CJI as Cong MPs withdraw plea on impeachment from SC

Chief Justice of India Dipak Misra today got a relief after two Congress MPs, challenging Rajya Sabha chairman M Venkaiah Naidu's order rejecting the impeachment notice against him, withdrew their petitions from the Supreme Court.

The top court expressed its reluctance to go into their contention questioning the setting up of a larger bench to hear the matter.

A five-judge constitution bench headed by Justice A K Sikri declared the petitions moved by the two MPs as "dismissed as withdrawn" after senior advocate and party leader Kapil Sibal, appearing for the MPs, decided not to press the pleas realising that the judges were not inclined to accept his arguments.

Sibal had sought to know who had ordered the listing of the matter before a larger bench and sought a copy of the order, saying this was necessary to enable them decide whether or not to challenge it.

The 45-minute hearing before the bench, which also comprised Justices S A Bobde, N V Ramana, Arun Mishra and A K Goel, saw Sibal appearing for the Rajya Sabha Congress MPs--Partap Singh Bajwa from Punjab and Amee Harshadray Yajnik from Gujarat-- raising questions over the setting up of the five-judge bench to hear the matter.

However, Attorney General K K Venugopal sought dismissal of the petitions filed by Bajwa and Yajnik, pointing out that only two of the over 60 members, who had earlier moved the impeachment notice in the Upper House of Parliament, have approached the apex court.

Venugopal said only two MPs from one party, the Congress, have moved the court when there were MPs from six other opposition parties who had moved a notice of impeachment motion before the Rajya Sabha chairman.

The AG said "the presumption is that all others have not supported the stand taken by the Congress party to challenge the rejection of impeachment notice by Naidu."