Consider the following statements:
- 1. The motion to impeach a Judge of the Supreme Court of India cannot be rejected by the Speaker of the Lok Sabha as per the Judges (Inquiry) Act, 1968.
- 2. The Constitution of India defines and gives details of what constitutes ‘incapacity and proved misbehaviour’ of the Judges of the Supreme Court of India.
- 3. The details of the process of impeachment of the Judges of the Supreme Court of India are given in the Judges (Inquiry) Act, 1968.
- 4. If the motion for the impeachment of a Judge is taken up for voting, the law requires the motion to be backed by each House of the Parliament and supported by a majority of total membership of that House and by not less than two-thirds of total members of that House present and voting.
Which of the statements given above is/are correct?
1 and 2
3 only
3 and 4 only
1, 3 and 4
Answer is Right!
Answer is Wrong!
This question was previously asked in
UPSC IAS – 2019
– Statement 2 is incorrect. The Constitution of India (Article 124(4)) specifies that a judge can be removed only on grounds of ‘proved misbehaviour or incapacity’. However, the Constitution does not define what constitutes ‘incapacity and proved misbehaviour’. This has been left to be determined by Parliament through law.
– Statement 3 is correct. The procedure for the investigation and proof of the misbehaviour or incapacity of a Supreme Court or High Court Judge for their removal is laid down in the Judges (Inquiry) Act, 1968.
– Statement 4 is correct. Article 124(4) read with Article 368 of the Constitution specifies that an impeachment motion against a judge requires a special majority: it must be passed by each House of Parliament by a majority of the total membership of that House and by a majority of not less than two-thirds of the members of that House present and voting.