Parliament Should Impeach President Prativa Patil

If democracy in India deserves not to be killed, the Parliament should impeach President Pratibha Patil for having sabotaged its business of impeaching Justice S. Sen of Kolkata High Court whose corruption forms the crux of allegation against him.

The Rajyasabha has already adopted the resolution to impeach him and the Loksabha has duly taken up the issue and enlisted his impeachment in its business to transact.

As such the issue of impeachment of Justice Sen is a pending business before the Loksabha. The Loksabha is the only authority, in the circumstances, to take a decision on impeachment of Justice Sen and his consequent removal or continuance on application of its collective wisdom, after which the President should have discharged her duties as deemed proper in the matter.

But by co-operating with Sen to evade impeachment, she has clearly sabotaged the Parliament’s continuing business.

Under the stipulations laid down in the Constitution, removal from office a Judge of higher judiciary is to follow “an address by each House of Parliament supported by a majority of total membership of that House and a majority of not less than two-thirds of the members of that House present and voting has been presented to the President in the same session”. But Article 121 makes it clear that “no discussion shall take place in Parliament with respect to the conduct of any Judge of the Supreme Court or a High Court in the discharge of his duties except upon a motion for presenting an address to the President praying for the removal of the Judge”. Once the motion is admitted in the House in this respect, the matter, till disposal by the concerned House, is an absolute property of the same House and cannot be rendered inconsequential in the midway. Any action, that makes the pending business before any House of the Parliament by any body inconsequential, should certainly be seen as an offense against the Parliament.

Parliament comprises the President, the Loksabha and the Rajyasabha and the President can neither legally nor morally dissociate from its businesses. On the other hand, a Loksabha official has informed that the President has been informed on Friday that the impeachment motion against Justice Sen was being listed for Monday. The impeachment motion was headlined by all the print majors and telecasted by all the TV channels worth the name and the President is provided with top ranking information officers to update every important information to her. She cannot plead ignorance about the motion of impeachment awaiting Loksabha votes.

In the circumstances, it is very clear that she has played tricks upon the Parliament by accepting the resignation of Justice Sen, intended to preempt his removal by way of impeachment.

In doing this also, she has contravened the Constitution of India and has broken her oath to preserve and protect it.

It is mandated in the Constitution that, to resign his office, a Judge must address his resignation to the President, “by writing under his hand”. This make it a must for the President to reject the resignation application if the Judge has not written it in his hand.

Justice Sen had sent his application, design to frustrate the Loksabha agenda, to the President by fax and therefore the document before the President was never wriiten by his hand. There was, hence, no scope for the President to entertain it. But she has done.

Ms. Pratibha Patil has undoubtedly degraded the august office of the President by resorting to this illegality and offense against the Parliament.

If democracy dose not deserve to be killed, she should be impeached by the Parliament for this brazen misconduct.