What’s Happening with Justice GR Swaminathan? The Impeachment Storm Explained

Justice GR Swaminathan is a current judge of a Madras High Court based in the Madurai bench when suddenly he is caught in a political firestorm. He has been impeached by more than 100 MPs of the INDIA block in the Lok Sabha. When it comes to a vote it would be the first major attempt to impeach a high court judge in more than 10 years.
The precipitating factor is an otherwise minor order that he gave on December 1. That is why the judge granted permission to the devotees to light the Karthigai Deepam lamp at the ancient stone pillar at the hill of Thiruparankundram. The dome is right beside an ancient dargah. Over the years, to circumvent any form of tension the festival flame was lit in a different location referred to as the deepa mandapam. The Tamil Nadu government had supported that set-up.
Rama Ravikumar, a local politician of Hindu Tamilar Katchi filed a petition to go back to the original pillar. It was heard the same day by Justice Swaminathan who gave permission. After police blocked devotees on December 3, he issued another order permitting a small group to light up the lamp on protection. The state government shouted foul and termed it as threat to communal harmony and went on a rush to put up an appeal.
The DMK party that governs Tamil Nadu took red. The orders were described by the party leaders as the newest attempt to advance a majoritarian agenda by the judge. They excavated previous cases in which Swaminathan had kept government decisions on appointing university personnel and acquiring land. On December 9, MPs of DMK, Congress, Samajwadi Party, Trinamool among others filed an 13-page impeachment notice in the Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla.
There are three general charges mentioned in the notice. To start with, there is established ideological prejudice and preference of one community over another in sensitive religious issues. Second, giving numerous urgent hearings and favourable orders to a certain senior advocate who is perceived to be a right-wing advocate. Third, egregious judicial misconduct which undermines social confidence in the judiciary.
Removal of a judge of an appellate court is a very difficult procedure. There must be 100 Lok Sabha or 50 Rajya Sabha MPs to sign the motion in the Constitution. The Speaker then makes his decision to admit it or not. In case of admission, a three-member investigative committee is established the usually Supreme Court judge, chief justice of a high court, and a prominent jurist. The motion is only referred to both Houses of Parliament on proof of the charges by the committee. It must have a special majority in each House, two-thirds of the members present, and vote, and of the total strength. Lastly, the order of removal is signed by the President.
Primarily, there is no judge who has ever been ousted so in independent India. Previous attempts at Justice V Ramaswami, Justice Soumitra Sen and Justice PD Dinakaran have collapsed at admission phase or withdrawn owing to resignation of the judge.
The BJP has reacted angrily. The move was deemed by Union Home Minister Amit Shah to be unprecedented and a move to intimidate judges who issue orders favoring the ruling party in Tamil Nadu does not like. It was a disgraceful appeasement politics according to Tamil Nadu BJP president K Annamalai. An open letter by fifty-six retired judges including two former Supreme Court justices called the motion a direct attack on judicial independence.
The attorney mentioned in the notice has been very vocal in rejecting the favouritism. He termed the accusations as false in fact and politically inclined.
In the meantime, the Deepam case of the original case has been sent to a division bench of the Madras High Court. The state government is still appealing. In Madurai, the protests still go on, yet no significant law-and-order explosion has been reported yet.
What has left one with eyebrows raised is the pace at which the opposition took action. The order was issued on the 1 st of December. By December 9 the notice was prepared. According to legal circles, a bigger question is whether the party can utilize the impeachment weapon simply because it does not agree with the rulings of a judge? Majority of the professionals do not believe the motion stands any slim chance of success. The figures in Lok Sabha are in favour of the incumbent NDA. Even in an event where it somehow makes it to the inquiry level, it is hardly possible to prove beyond reasonable doubt, misbehaviour.
However, the episode has stirred a past argument about the ratio of the judicial and executive branches. In Tamil Nadu, where the DMK has always identified itself as the protector of Dravidian and secular ideals, the dispute with a high court judge has become particularly personal.
In the meantime, Justice Swaminathan still sits in court. The office of the Speaker has already accepted the notice but there is no deadline by which it would make its decision. The case may take months, maybe years to pass. However, there is one thing that is quite evident, which is that a normal light festival lamp has found itself throwing an ugly light to the weakness of judicial independence when politics is involved.