Incidents of impeachment: A quick look at some South Asian nations

Congress-led opposition parties today met Vice President and Rajya Sabha chairman M Venkaiah Naidu seeing impeachment of Chief Justice of India Dipak Misra.

Nearly 71 lawmakers have signed the petition that alleges the Chief Justice of misconduct and misbehaviour. The motion will be examined by the Vice President.

The request for Misra's impeachment has sparked a political outcry in the country with the BJP lashing out at the Congress for trying to "demean, degrade and denigrate" the judiciary.

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Finance Minister Arun Jaitley on Friday accused the Congress party of trivialising the power of impeachment and using it as a political tool.

The impeachment notice comes a day after the Supreme Court rejected a bunch of petitions seeking an independent probe into the death of Judge B H Loya, who was hearing the Sohrabuddin Sheikh encounter case.

An impeachment motion in the Rajya Sabha has to be supported by at least 50 MPs of the Upper House, while the number of MPs supporting such a motion in the Lok Sabha is 100.

Once the notice of impeachment is submitted to the Rajya Sabha chairman, hewill ascertain whether there is merit or ground for moving such a motion.

In case he finds merit a committee can be formed to look into the matter, else the motion can be simply rejected.

While the final word on CJI Misra's impeachment is yet to be pronounced, here is a quick look at the incidents of impeaching Chief Justices in some of the neighbouring South Asian countries.

Bangladesh

The Supreme Court, in a landmark verdict last year, declared void a 2014 constitutional amendment that empowered its parliament to impeach apex court judges.

Sri Lanka

The ruling coalition in the year 2012 moved a resolution to impeach the country’s chief justice, Shirani Bandaranayake.

Early in the year 2013, the Sri Lankan parliament debated the impeachment motion against Bandaranayake removing her from office on 13 January 2013.

She was reinstated into her office by President Maithripala Sirisena.

Nepal

On 30 April, two ruling parties of Nepal -- the Nepali Congress and the Communist Party of Nepal (Maoist Centre) -- moved an impeachment motion alleging that the Chief Justice had encroached on the prerogatives of the executive branch.

UN rights chief called the impeachment motion "an assault on human rights". “I urge the Nepal authorities to respect the independence of the judiciary, to withdraw what appears to be a politically motivated impeachment motion and to commit to the processes of transitional justice and accountability,” said the top UN human rights official.

If the impeachment motion against Misra is moved it will be the first time ever in the country's history.