INDIA Bloc Moves Impeachment Notice against Madras HC's Justice G.R. Swaminathan
South First
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MPs of the opposition INDIA bloc moved an impeachment motion against Madras high court judge Justice G.R. Swaminathan on Tuesday, December 9.
The opposition leadership has already collected the required number of MPs’ signatures and is preparing to submit the notice in parliament.
The notice was submitted by DMK MPs to Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla. The notice was handed over jointly with INDIA bloc leaders, including Priyanka Gandhi and Akhilesh Yadav, marking a coordinated move by the opposition alliance.
The development is related to an order that allowed a section of devotees of the Uchchipillaiyar Temple to light the traditional Karthigai Deepam at Deepathoon, a stone lamp pillar located near a Dargah at Thirupparankundram in Madurai.
The impeachment notice
The MPs moved the notice under Article 217 read with 124 of the Constitution of India.
They cited the three issues that can be grounds of misconduct against Justice Swaminthan.
The notice read:
1. The conduct of Justice G.R. Swaminathan raises serious questions regarding impartiality, transparency, and the secular functioning of the judiciary;
2. Undue favouritism shown to one M. Sricharan Ranganathan, Senior Advocate in deciding the cases, also favouring advocates from a particular community;
3. Deciding cases on the basis of particular political ideology and against the secular principles of Indian Constitution.
The lamp lighting controversy
According to locals, for more than a hundred years, the lamp has been lit near the Uchchipillaiyar Temple in Tirupparankundram. There is even an old inscriptional record supporting this traditional location.
Ignoring this, certain religious fundamentalists and divisive groups began insisting that the lamp must instead be lit on a boundary stone located near a dargah. Based on a petition filed by Rama Ravikumar, Justice Swaminathan passed the order, directing that the lamp be lit at the deepathoon and instructing the police to provide necessary security.
However, the lamppost at the exact hilltop, as directed by the court, was not lit. Condemning this, Hindu Munnani functionaries marched towards the Thirupparankundram temple and hill, attempting to lay siege.
When protestors tried to push past the barricades, clashes broke out with the police. The situation escalated when some protestors attempted to trek up the hill. Two policemen on duty were injured in the scuffle that ensued.
Subsequently, the Madurai Bench of the Madras high court ordered that the petitioner, Rama Ravikumar, along with 10 persons, be allowed to go to the lamp pillar under the protection of the Central Industrial Security Force (CISF) to light the lamp.
Following the unrest, areas including the 16 Pillars Mandapam stretch and Thirupparankundram hill were brought under tight police control to maintain law and order.
Following these developments, a contempt of court case is now underway before the Madurai Bench of the Madras High Court, alleging that the Madurai district administration failed to implement the court’s order. The case is scheduled to come up for hearing on Tuesday before Justice Swaminathan.
Even as the hearing is set to take place, reports have emerged that an impeachment notice is likely to be submitted against him in Parliament.
This report first appeared on South First and has been republished with permission.
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