Allahabad High Court judge Narayan Shukla to be impeached
NEW DELHI : Chief Justice of India Dipak Misra recommended to the President of India and the Prime Minister to initiate proceedings in Parliament for the removal of Allahabad High Court Judge Shri Narayan Shukla following an adverse report about him by an in-house panel. The panel had been set up by the CJI.
In-house panel led by the Chief Justice of Madras HC Indira Banerjee to probe into the matter. The panel in its report held Justice Shukla of committing gross judicial misconduct, warranting removal from service either on his own or through the process of impeachment in Parliament. He is eighth senior-most judge of the Allahabad High Court,
According to highly placed sources, the CJI sent his letter to the President and the PM late tonight paving the way for his possible impeachment in Parliament. Earlier, the Allahabad High Court has withdrawn all judicial work from Justice Narayan Shukla.Justice Shukla joined the Allahabad High Court in 2005 and was set to retire on July 17, 2020.
The medical college scam came to light after the CBI registered an FIR in September last against a retired a Judge of the Orissa HC Quddussi and others on a charge of corruption to get favorable orders to allow admissions in the college despite the Medical Council of India refusing to accord recognition to the college.
The campaign for Judicial Accountability through advocate Prashant Bhushan filed a PIL in the Apex Court for a probe by a special investigation team into allegations of corruption against judges of higher judiciary. Justice J. Chelameswar took upon himself the task of setting up a five-judge bench to probe a similar matter filed by advocate Kamini Jaiswal.
When the impeachment motion is moved in Parliament, an investigation is conducted. If the findings of guilt are confirmed, the impeachment motion will be put to vote for the removal of the judge by a majority.
Chief Justice Misra had expressed “shock” at an order passed by a Division Bench led by Justice Shukla on September 1, 2017. allowing G.C.R.G. Memorial Trust, based in Lucknow, in defiance of a “graphically clear” restraining direction from the Supreme Court on August 28 to stop admissions for the academic session 2017-18.
The Supreme Court noted how Justice Shukla, on September 4, even made some corrections to the September 1 order. On November 23, Chief Justice Misra, in a 14-page judgment, held that the Division Bench, led by Justice Shukla, had abandoned “the concept of judicial propriety” and transgressed judicial rules to “proceed on a path where it was not required to.” (With Agency Inputs ).
