Sibal who read out impeachment motion against CJI Misra had defended a judge 25 years ago

Congress leader Kapil Sibal | PTI

Veteran lawyer Sibal had defended SC judge V. Ramaswami in 1993 when he faced an impeachment motion over charges of financial impropriety.

New Delhi: Life must have come a full circle for veteran lawyer and Congress leader Kapil Sibal as he read out the impeachment motion against Chief Justice of India Dipak Misra Friday.

Twenty-five years ago, he was, however, defending a judge against impeachment.

“As representatives of the people, we are entitled to hold the chief justice accountable just as we are accountable to the people. The majesty of the law is more important than the majesty of any office,” Sibal said reading from a carefully drafted note.

For over a month now, the opposition, quietly led by Sibal, has been gathering support to bring his historic motion against the CJI. With stalwart lawyers and senior Congress leaders P. Chidambaram and Salman Khurshid not participating in the process, many believe it is Sibal who drafted the motion and took the lead in building a consensus among opposition parties.

Twenty-five years ago, Sibal was also at the forefront defending then Supreme Court judge V. Ramaswami. Allegations of financial impropriety and irregularities were made against Justice Ramaswami from when he was Chief Justice of the High Court of Punjab and Haryana. A total of 108 members of the 9th Lok Sabha had moved an impeachment motion against the judge.

The Ramaswami case

In the press conference Friday, it was Sibal himself who first made a reference to the Ramaswami case. “As per the Ramaswami case, a judge must recuse from judicial work after an impeachment motion is brought against him,” he said citing a position which he had argued against as a precedent for Dipak Misra to follow.

The impeachment motion against Ramaswami was admitted by the speaker in March 1991 and Sibal eventually had to defend the judge in Parliament on 10 May 1993.

To date, he remains the only lawyer to have addressed Parliament in that capacity. Interestingly, it was Misra’s predecessor, former CJI J.S. Khehar, and former solicitor general Ranjit Kumar who had assisted Sibal in defending the impeachment proceedings.

But in the two-year gap, Ramaswami, advised by Sibal had exhausted every legal option before him.

The judge had gone from contesting the powers of the three-member inquiry committee set up by Parliament to disputing its findings. The cases had all lined up before the apex court with Sibal appearing for the judge and senior advocate Indira Jaising against him.

Now, Jaising has expressed her support for the four senior judges who questioned the CJI’s conduct.

Eventually, the impeachment motion failed (196 for the motion, none against, 205 abstentions) as the ruling Congress party abstained from voting. But Sibal was instantly a name to reckon with in legal circles.

Once again Sibal’s role is expected to be vital for an impeachment motion to succeed or fail.