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Impeachment
The Congress will support and its MPs will be among the signatories to the motion to be brought against Justice Yashwant Varma in the Lok Sabha, senior party leader Jairam Ramesh said on Friday, asserting that then-CJI Sanjiv Khanna had "forced our hand" in the matter by writing to the president and the prime minister. In an interview with PTI, Ramesh also stressed that the opposition would strongly push the issue of Justice Shekhar Yadav, against whom 55 opposition MPs moved an impeachment notice in the Rajya Sabha last December for allegedly delivering a hate speech at a gathering last year. A fire incident at Justice Varma's residence in the national capital in March, when he was a judge at the Delhi High Court, had led to the discovery of several burnt sacks of banknotes in the outhouse. Though the judge claimed ignorance about the cash, the Supreme Court-appointed committee indicted him after speaking to a number of witnesses and recording his statement. Justice Khanna had ...
Resignation is the only option before Justice Yashwant Varma to avoid impeachment by Parliament as the government pushes for bringing a motion to remove the Allahabad High Court judge over alleged corruption. Officials aware of the procedure to appoint and remove Supreme Court and high court judges pointed out that while defending his case before lawmakers in any of the House, Justice Varma can announce that he is quitting and his verbal statement will be considered as his resignation. Should he decide to resign, he will get pension and other benefits entitled to a retired HC judge. But if he is removed by Parliament, he will be deprived of pension and other benefits, they noted. According to Article 217 of the Constitution, a high court judge "may, by writing under his hand addressed to the President, resign his office." A judge's resignation does not require any approval. A simple resignation letter is sufficient. A judge may give a prospective date to step down. In such cases,
South Korea's Constitutional Court said it will rule on whether to formally dismiss or reinstate impeached President Yoon Suk Yeol this Friday. It has been deliberating on Yoon's political fate over his ill-fated imposition of martial law that triggered a massive political crisis. Whatever decision is, it will likely deepen domestic divisions. Millions of people have rallied in Seoul and elsewhere to support or denounce Yoon in the past few months. Police said they'll mobilize all available personnel to preserve order and respond to acts of vandalism, arson and assault. The Constitutional Court said in a statement Tuesday that it would issue the ruling Friday. The opposition-controlled liberal National Assembly in December voted to impeach Yoon, a conservative, leaving his political fate in the hands of the Constitutional Court. Yoon is facing a separate criminal trial after he was arrested and indicted by prosecutors in January on rebellion charges in connection with his Dec. 3 ...
In the latest twist in South Korea's ongoing political crisis, the country's Constitutional Court reinstated Prime Minister Han Duck-soo as acting leader, overturning his impeachment by opposition lawmakers three months ago. The court's ruling on Monday marks just one front in the deepening turmoil as it simultaneously weighs the far more consequential case of conservative President Yoon Suk Yeol, whose December impeachment over his brief but stunning martial law decree has left the country's leadership in limbo for months. Here's a look at the court's decision and what's ahead: How did Han get reinstated? The prime minister typically holds limited authority as the country's second-highest official. But Han, a career bureaucrat who has held various government roles since the 1970s, was elevated as the government's caretaker after South Korea's opposition-controlled National Assembly impeached Yoon on Dec. 14. Yoon's impeachment, triggered by his short-lived imposition of martial l
In an extraordinary display of conflict between the executive and judiciary branches, Supreme Court Chief Justice John Roberts rejected calls for impeaching federal judges shortly after President Donald Trump demanded the removal of a judge who ruled against his deportation plans. For more than two centuries, it has been established that impeachment is not an appropriate response to disagreement concerning a judicial decision, Roberts said in a rare statement. The normal appellate review process exists for that purpose. In a Tuesday morning social media post, Trump described US District Judge James E. Boasberg as an unelected troublemaker and agitator." Boasberg recently issued an order blocking deportation flights under wartime authorities from an 18th century law that Trump invoked to carry out his plans. HE DIDN'T WIN ANYTHING! I WON FOR MANY REASONS, IN AN OVERWHELMING MANDATE, BUT FIGHTING ILLEGAL IMMIGRATION MAY HAVE BEEN THE NUMBER ONE REASON FOR THIS HISTORIC VICTORY, Trump
South Korea's Constitutional Court could soon rule on whether to dismiss or reinstate impeached conservative President Yoon Suk Yeol. That doesn't mean the political crisis caused by Yoon's short-lived imposition of martial law is over. South Korea's already-severe political divide between conservatives and liberals will likely intensify as Seoul grapples with major foreign policy challenges like U.S. President Donald Trump's America First foreign policy platform and North Korea's increasing military cooperation with Russia. Here's what to expect about the court's likely impending verdict on Yoon's Dec. 3 martial law decree that is testing South Korea's democracy. What might the court do? The Constitutional Court has been deliberating whether to formally end Yoon's presidency since the liberal opposition-controlled National Assembly in December voted to suspend him. Yoon is also facing a separate criminal trial after his arrest and indictment by prosecutors in January for alleged ..
South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol has become the country's first leader to be indicted, less than two weeks after he was the first to be detained. The impeached, jailed president, who had been holed up in his presidential compound for weeks after issuing a shocking martial law decree last month, now faces rebellion charges that are punishable by the death penalty or life in prison. It's part of a tortuous saga that has plunged South Korea into political turmoil and further riven an already divided society. And it's not the only legal headache Yoon faces. A separate proceeding will determine whether to formally dismiss Yoon as president or reinstate him. As Seoul prepares for double court hearings, continuing chaotic protests and increasingly harsh rhetoric from pro-and anti-Yoon forces, here's what to expect next: What happens now? Yoon will stay in jail. He will be brought from a detention facility to a Seoul court for hearings in the rebellion trial, which is expected to la
South Korean prosecutors on Sunday indicted the impeached President Yoon Suk Yeol over his imposition of martial law last month, news reports said. Yonhap news agency reported that the Seoul Central District Prosecutors' Office indicted Yoon over rebellion in connection with his December 3 decree that plunged the country into massive political turmoil. Other South Korean media outlets have carried similar reports. Repeated calls to the prosecutors' office were unanswered. Yoon was earlier impeached and arrested over the martial law decree. The Constitutional Court is separately deliberating whether to formally dismiss Yoon as president or reinstate him. Yoon, a conservative, has steadfastly denied any wrongdoing, calling his martial law a legitimate act of governance meant to raise public awareness of the danger of the liberal-controlled National Assembly which obstructed his agenda and impeached top officials. During his announcement of martial law, Yoon called the assembly a den
South Korea's impeached president denied Tuesday that he ordered the military to drag lawmakers out of the National Assembly to prevent them from voting to reject his martial law decree last month, as he appeared for the first time before the Constitutional Court that will determine his fate. Yoon Suk Yeol's presence at the court was his first public appearance since becoming South Korea's first sitting president to be detained over his short-lived declaration of martial law, which plunged the country into political turmoil. After abruptly imposing martial law on Dec 3, Yoon sent troops and police officers to encircle the National Assembly, but enough lawmakers managed to enter to vote unanimously to reject his decree, forcing Yoon's Cabinet to lift the measure early the following morning. Yoon, a conservative, has since argued that his dispatch of troops was not meant to block the assembly but instead was a warning to the main liberal opposition Democratic Party, which has used its