Rajya Sabha chairman Venkaiah Naidu rejects impeachment notice against CJI

Venkaiah Naidu (PHOTO: PIB)


After consulting legal experts on Sunday, Rajya Sabha chairman Venkaiah Naidu on Monday rejected the impeachment notice by seven Opposition parties against the Chief Justice of India Dipak Misra citing lack of substantial merit in it, said reports.

Leaders of opposition parties had on Friday met Naidu and handed over the notice of impeachment against the chief justice of India (CJI) bearing signatures of 64 MPs and seven former members, who recently retired.

The opposition parties, led by the Congress, initiated the unprecedented step to impeach the CJI by moving the notice levelling charges against him.

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Vice President Naidu had cut short his Telangana visit and returned to Delhi on Sunday to set in motion the process of consultation on the impeachment notice.

According to media reports, the Vice-President returned to the national capital early because some of those he wanted to consult regarding the notice conveyed their availability on Sunday.

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After reaching Delhi, Rajya Sabha Chairman Naidu held discussions with constitutional and legal experts, including Attorney General K K Venugopal.

According to officials, Naidu also spoke to former Lok Sabha secretary general Subhash Kashyap, former law secretary P K Malhotra and former legislative secretary Sanjay Singh on the issue.

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He also held deliberations with senior officials of the Rajya Sabha Secretariat, the officials said, adding that Naidu also spoke to former Supreme Court judge B Sudarshan Reddy.

 

(With agency inputs)