Impeachment/Removal Motion against Madras HC Judge

On December 9, 2025, 107 MPs from INDIA bloc submitted impeachment notice against Madras HC Judge G.R. Swaminathan over his orders allowed Karthigai Deepam lamp lighting near a dargah at Thirupparankundram Subramaniaswamy temple.

Background

● The dispute centers on the Thiruparankundram hill in Madurai which is home to both the Arulmigu Subramaniya Swamy temple (a 6th century temple) and the Sultan Pathusha Sikandar Auliya Dargah (a 14th century dargah).

● Justice Swaminathan’s single judge bench accepted a petition from devotees to revive the ancient practice of lighting the Karthigai Deepam at the “Deepathoon” (an ancient stone lamp pillar) on the hill’s peak, a location 50 meters from the dargah and part of the temple’s property. The judge held that the temple authorities had title over the unoccupied portions of the hill and that lighting the lamp would not affect the rights of the Muslim community.

● The Tamil Nadu government, citing law and order concerns and the potential for communal tension, opposed the order and refused to implement it.

● After the initial order was not complied with, Justice Swaminathan issued subsequent orders in contempt proceedings, allowing the devotees to go up the hill with protection from the Central Industrial Security Force (CISF) to light the lamp themselves. This led to clashes between police and Hindu activists.

Removal Motion

● Prominent signatories of the notice include Congress leader Priyanka Gandhi Vadra, Samajwadi Party’s Akhilesh Yadav, DMK’s T.R. Baalu and Kanimozhi and NCP’s Supriya Sule. They handed the notice to Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla with copies sent to President Droupadi Murmu and Chief Justice Sanjiv Khanna.

● The notice accuses Justice Swaminathan of “proved misbehaviour” under Articles 124(4) and 217 of the Constitution. It claims his rulings show bias, undue favoritism toward senior advocate M. Sricharan Ranganathan and lawyers from a “particular community,” and decisions influenced by political ideology that undermine judicial impartiality and secularism.

● A group of 56 former judges, including former Supreme Court judges, strongly opposed the impeachment move. They described the motion as an attempt to browbeat judges who do not align with certain political or ideological expectations, warning that this mirrors earlier periods of political interference, including the 1975 Emergency when judges faced pressure for delivering unfavourable judgments.

● The INDIA bloc’s removal motion is politically motivated, using the pretext of pseudo-secularism to create unnecessary controversy and undermine judicial independence.

Impeachment/Removal process for Judges in India

● The term “impeachment” is not explicitly used in the Constitution but it refers to the formal process of removing a Supreme Court or High Court Judge for proved misbehaviour or incapacity.

● Articles 124(4) of the Indian Constitution and the Judges (Inquiry) Act, 1968 set the rules for removing Supreme Court judges. Article 218 applies the same rules to High Court judges.

● An impeachment motion can be introduced in either the Lok Sabha or the Rajya Sabha. It must have the support of at least 100 MPs in the Lok Sabha or 50 MPs in the Rajya Sabha. The motion can proceed only if accepted by the Speaker of Lok Sabha or the Chairman of Rajya Sabha.

● A three member committee is constituted under the Judges (Inquiry) Act, 1968. It includes a Supreme Court judge (or the Chief Justice of India), the Chief Justice of a High Court and an eminent jurist.

● The inquiry committee submits its report to the House that initiated the motion. If the judge is found guilty, the motion is debated and must be passed in both Houses by a special majority (two-thirds present and voting, plus absolute majority of total membership).

● After Parliament’s approval the President issues the final removal order.

● If the judge resigns mid process, impeachment proceedings usually end. No judge has been successfully impeached in India so far. A very high voting threshold makes removal extremely rare.

Past Impeachment Motions against Judges

● Justice V. Ramaswami (1993): Justice V. Ramaswami was the judge of Punjab and Haryana High Court first High Court judge against whom an impeachment motion was initiated. He was charged with willful misuse of office, particularly financial misappropriation for personal extravagance. However, the motion in the Lok Sabha failed as it did not achieve the required two-thirds majority.

● Justice Soumitra Sen (2011): Justice Soumitra Sen of the Calcutta High Court faced impeachment over allegations of molestation of his intern. The removal motion was introduced in Rajya Sabha and passed by Rajya Sabha by its special majority. The motion was thereafter to be placed before the Lok Sabha but Justice Sen resigned before its introduction in the Lok Sabha to avoid removal.

● Justice P.D. Dinakaran (2011): Justice Dinakaran, then Chief Justice of Sikkim High Court faced allegations of corruption, land grabbing and abuse of office. A Rajya Sabha appointed committee was set to investigate but he resigned before the probe began.

● Justice S.K. Gangele (2015): Justice S.K. Gangele from Madhya Pradesh High Court faced impeachment charges of sexual harassment brought by a former Additional District and Sessions Judge. The Supreme Court directed the Chief Justice to divest him of administrative control to ensure a fair inquiry. A three-member inquiry committee appointed by the Rajya Sabha eventually removed him of the charges.

● Justice J.B. Pardiwala (2015): Justice Pardiwala, then serving in Gujarat High Court and now a Supreme Court judge, faced impeachment initiated by 58 Rajya Sabha MPs. The motion objected to his remarks on reservations and corruption during a criminal petition involving sedition charges in Hardik Patel case. In his verdict, he made two remarks that the biggest hurdle in the progress of our country are corruption by politicians and continuance of reservation policy. Our parliamentarians felt offended as he criticised reservation policy and inducted politicians in corruption charges. Parliamentarians demanded the introduction of a removal motion against him. Later on, Justice Pardiwala removed his remarks from the verdict and demand of his removal was diluted.

● Justice C.V. Nagarjuna Reddy (2017): A motion to impeach Justice Nagarjuna Reddy of Andhra Pradesh/Telangana High Court was moved by G1 Rajya Sabha MPs, accusing him of misconduct including misbehavior with a Dalit judge, disproportionate income and misconduct as an advocate. The notice for his removal failed twice as many signatories withdrew their support both times.

● Former Chief Justice Dipak Misra (2018): Opposition MPs moved a motion to impeach then CJI Dipak Misra over allegations related to the Medical College bribery case and abuse of the master of roster powers. The then Rajya Sabha Chairman Shri Vankaiya Naidu rejected the motion citing lack of “proved misbehaviour.”

● Justice Shekhar Kumar Yadav (2024): A motion to impeach Justice Shekhar Kumar Yadav, a judge of the Allahabad High Court, was formally submitted to the Secretary General of the Rajya Sabha. The motion, signed by 55 Rajya Sabha MPs following Justice Yadav’s controversial speech at a Vishwa Hindu Parishad (VHP) event in Prayagraj. The motion is pending with the Rajya Sabha Chairman with no formal inquiry committee having been formed yet.

● Justice Yashwant Varma (2025): An impeachment motion was initiated in 2025 against Justice Yashwant Varma (Allahabad High Court, formerly Delhi HC) after a large cash seizure at his residence led to corruption allegations. Over 140 MPs signed the motion, Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla admitted it and set up a three-member inquiry panel on “proved misbehaviour.” The process is ongoing, as Justice Varma has refused to resign after an in-house probe.