Bhushan files RTI to see impeachment case transfer order
New Delhi, May 8: Senior advocate Prashant Bhushan on Tuesday moved an RTI application in the Supreme Court Additional Registrar office to find out if the CJI impeachment case was referred to a five-judge Constitution bench by way of administrative order and who passed it.
The move came after the bench hearing the plea refused to answer the question, and senior counsel Kapil Sibal subsequently withdrew a petition moved by two Congress MPs against Rajya Sabha Chairman M. Venkaiah Naidu's dismissal of a notice to impeach Chief Justice of India (CJI) Dipak Misra.
"Was writ petition Pratap Singh Bajwa and Another versus Chairman Rajya Sabha and Another listed on May 8 before a Constitution bench by way of an administrative order? If yes, who has passed the above mentioned order," Bhushan asked in his application seeking information under the Right to Information (RTI) Act.
Besides a copy of the order, Bhushan also said that he be allowed to "inspect the concerned file along with any file noting concerning the said order".
On April 20, members from seven opposition parties led by the Congress submitted a notice to Chairman Naidu to initiate impeachment proceedings against Chief Justice Misra on five counts of "misbehaviour" -- a notice rejected by Naidu.
On Monday, Congress MPs Pratap Singh Bajwa and Amee Yajnik filed a petition alleging that Naidu's decision was politically motivated.
"It was mentioned before the court that since the case deals directly with the CJI on impeachment and therefore the CJI could not have heard the mentioning or exercise any power as the master of the roster or for listing the case," Bhushan told the media.
"But suddenly last night, the registry announced that the case has been listed before a Constitution bench in Court 6. It has never happened before that a matter/petition is listed before a Constitution bench even without a judicial order and we need to know if the CJI has passed this order."
Bhushan said every administrative order of any authority, even if it is of the CJI, is capable of being challenged on the judicial side.
"Unfortunately, the bench said they would not like to go into this matter and they would not like to provide a copy of the order," the senior lawyer said.
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Assam to lift all cases against Koch Rajbongshis in Foreigners' Tribunals: CM Himanta Biswa Sarma
Guwahati, Apr 4 (PTI): The Assam cabinet has decided to lift all cases pending against people from the Koch Rajbongshi community in the Foreigners' Tribunals, Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma said on Friday.
They will also no longer carry the tag of 'D' or doubtful voters, he said.
''There are 28,000 cases pending in different Foreigners' Tribunals in the state against people of the community. The cabinet has taken a historic decision of lifting the cases with immediate effect,'' Sarma said at a press conference here after the cabinet meeting.
The government believes that the Koch Rajbongshis are an indigenous community of the state and they are an inextricable part of ''our social and cultural fabric'', he asserted.
The people of this community are poor and have suffered a lot over the years, he said.
''They will no longer carry the tag of foreigners or ‘D’ voters,'' the CM said.
Foreigners Tribunals are quasi-judicial bodies, particularly in Assam, established to determine if a person residing in India is a "foreigner" as defined by the Foreigners Act of 1946, based on the Foreigners (Tribunals) Order of 1964.
These tribunals are designed to address matters related to citizenship and the presence of “foreigners” in India, specifically focusing on cases where someone is suspected of being an illegal immigrant.
There are 100 Foreigners’ Tribunals across Assam.
The Koch Rajbongshis have a sizeable presence in Assam, West Bengal, Meghalaya, and parts of Bangladesh, Nepal, and Bhutan, and they demand Scheduled Tribe status.
