Question

What procedure has been laid down for the removal of the judge of the High Court?

Answer 1

Hint: The Constitution provides that a judge can be removed only by an order from the President. The order is based on a motion passed by both Houses of Parliament. The procedure for the removal of judges is mentioned in the Judges Inquiry Act, $1968$. The act discusses and mentions the procedure for the removal of a High Court judge.

Complete answer:
The constitution provides a certain procedure for the removal of the judge of the High Court. The Judges Inquiry Act, $1968$ sets out certain steps for removal of the judge of High Court from office:
A. Under the Act, an impeachment motion may create in either House of Parliament. The motion can be passed in certain ways. To initiate proceedings:
a) At least $100$ members of Lok Sabha give a signed notice to the Speaker, or
b) At least $50$ members of Rajya Sabha give a signed notice to the Chairman. The Speaker or Chairman may consult individuals and at the same time examine the relevant material related to the notice. Based on this examination, he or she may decide to either admit the motion or refuse to admit it.
B. The motion is accepted, the Speaker or Chairman will form a three-member committee to examine the complaint. The three-member committee includes the following members:
a. A Supreme Court judge;
b. Chief Justice of a High Court; and
c. A distinguished jurist.
The committee will make changes based on which the investigation will be conducted. A copy of the charges will be sent to the judge. The judge who can present a written defense.
C. After finishing its investigation, the Committee will submit its report to the Speaker or Chairman, who will then put down the report before the relevant House of Parliament. If the report found incapacity, the motion for removal of the judge will be taken up for both considerations and debated.
D. The motion for removal is necessary to be adopted by each House of Parliament. The criteria for adoption were the following:
(i) a majority of the total membership of the house which introduces the motion; and
(ii) a majority of at least two-thirds of the members of the house which introduces the motion, the present, and voting members in that house.
If the motion is adopted by this majority, the motion will be sent to the other House for adoption and the procedure is repeated in that house.
E. Once the motion is adopted in both Houses, it is sent to the President for his consent and the president has the power to issue an order for the removal of the judge.

Note: The removal motion finds success in terms of Article $124(4)$ , the motion comes before the President of India. The removal of a judge can only be effected by an order passed by the President and his or her consent was needed for approving or passing the motion.