Who Is Justice Swaminathan Of Madras HC - And Why Does INDIA Bloc Want Him Removed?

(MENAFN- Live Mint) Over 100 opposition Members of Parliament (MPs) on 9 December submitted a notice to Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla to move a motion for the removal of Madras High Court Judge GR Swaminathan.

DMK parliamentary party leader Kanimozhi, the party's leader in the Lok Sabha, MP TR Baalu, Samajwadi Party leader Akhilesh Yadav, and Congress leader Priyanka Gandhi Vadra, among others, handed over a notice with over 100 signatures of parliamentarians for moving a motion to remove the judge.

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The motion seeks impeachment of Justice Swaminathan on grounds of "misconduct". It states that the judge's conduct raises questions about his impartiality, transparency and secular functioning, according to legal news website, LiveLaw.

The notice further alleges "favouritism" on the part of the judge towards a senior advocate and advocates from a particular community. The signatories also seek the removal of Justice Swaminathan on the grounds of deciding cases based on a "particular political ideology" and against secular principles of the Constitution.

Deciding cases on the basis of particular political ideology is against the secular principles of the Indian Constitution, it added.

What sparked the row?

Justice Swaminathan's recent order directing Subramaniya Swamy temple authorities in Tamil Nadu to ensure that a lamp is lit at the deepathoon (pillar) in Madurai district had sparked a row.

The site is contested by Hindu temple authorities and an adjoining dargah.

In the order on 1 December, a single-judge bench of Justice Swaminathan had held that the Arulmighu Subramania Swamy temple was duty-bound to light the lamp at the deepathoon. The stone lamp pillar is located on the Thiruparankundram hillock near a dargah in Tamil Nadu.

The bench said that doing so would not encroach upon the rights of the adjacent dargah or the Muslim community. When the order remained unimplemented, the single judge passed another order on 3 December permitting devotees themselves to light the lamp and directed the Central Industrial Security Force (CISF) to ensure their protection. This led the DMK-led state government to move to the top court.

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The issue of lighting of the traditional lamp at the hilltop temple near Madurai rocked the Lok Sabha last Friday, with Baalu accusing the BJP of trying to "ignite" communal tensions in Tamil Nadu and Union minister L Murugan hitting back at the Tamil Nadu government for "denying the right to worship".

Left parties on Tuesday alleged that there are attempts to whip up communal tensions in Tamil Nadu by manufacturing a controversy around the religious sites situated on the Tirupparankundram Hill in the Madurai district.

In a joint statement, the CPI(M), CPI, CPI(ML), RSP, and AIFB condemned the targeting of Madurai MP Su Venkatesan over the issue.

"The Left parties strongly condemn the attempts by the BJP and other Hindutva communal forces to whip up communal tensions in Tamil Nadu by manufacturing a controversy around the religious sites situated on Tirupparankundram Hill in Madurai district, with a sinister eye on political gain," the statement read.

How does a removal notice work in Lok Sabha?

A notice for the removal of a judge must be signed by at least 100 members in the Lok Sabha and 50 in the Rajya Sabha. The motion can either be accepted or rejected by the Speaker or the Chairman.

According to the Judges (Inquiry) Act, when notice of a motion is submitted and accepted, a committee to examine the charges levelled against the judge will be constituted by the Lok Sabha Speaker.

The inquiry report will be tabled in Parliament, followed by a discussion in both Houses, after which there will be a vote on the motion for the removal of the judge.

Who is Justice Swaminathan?

Justice Swaminathan is a first-generation lawyer, born in 1968. He practised for over thirteen years at Chennai. After the establishment of the Madurai Bench, he shifted his practice.

Justice Swaminathan was the standing counsel for several public sector undertakings. He became the Assistant Solicitor Genera for the Madurai Bench in 2014. He was elevated to the rank of Additional Judge of the Madras High Court in June 2017 and later made permanent.

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Justice Swaminathan has authored several landmark judgments covering free speech, prisoners' rights, animal rights and the rights of thedifferently-abled. Justice Swaminathan has authored 52,094 judgments and orders, according to the Madras High Court's website.

(With agency inputs)

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