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Question 61 of 77 · Judiciary
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A judge of the Supreme Court can be removed from office only on the grounds of:

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Answer: Option B — Proved misbehaviour or incapacity

Detailed Solution

Under Article 124(4), a judge of the Supreme Court can be removed from office by an order of the President only on the ground of proved misbehaviour or incapacity, after an address by each House of Parliament supported by a special majority.

Special majority required:

  • A majority of the total membership of each House.
  • A majority of not less than two-thirds of the members present and voting in each House.
  • Both Houses must pass the address in the same session.

Procedure under the Judges (Inquiry) Act, 1968:

  • A notice of motion is signed by at least 100 members of the Lok Sabha or 50 members of the Rajya Sabha.
  • The Speaker or Chairman may admit it and constitute a three-member inquiry committee.
  • The committee includes the Chief Justice of India or a Supreme Court judge, a Chief Justice of a High Court, and a distinguished jurist.
  • If the committee finds the judge guilty, the House considers the motion.
  • After both Houses pass the address, the President orders the removal.

Meaning of the grounds:

  • "Misbehaviour" includes corruption, lack of integrity and other wilful misconduct.
  • "Incapacity" means physical or mental inability to perform the duties of the office.

No judge has been removed:

Removal proceedings were started against Justice V. Ramaswami (1991 to 1993), but the motion failed in the Lok Sabha.

The Rajya Sabha passed a motion against Justice Soumitra Sen of the Calcutta High Court in 2011, but he resigned before the Lok Sabha took it up.

High Court judges:

The same grounds and procedure apply to the removal of High Court judges.

Comparison:

  • The President is impeached for "violation of the Constitution".
  • The Election Commissioner and the CAG are removed in the same manner as Supreme Court judges.

Why removal is difficult:

The difficult procedure protects the independence of the judiciary.

Why not the other options?

  • ✗Violation of the Constitution is the ground for impeaching the President.
  • ✗Loss of confidence and disagreement with the government are not grounds for removing judges.

Quick tip

Remember: Judges are removed only for proved misbehaviour or incapacity (Article 124(4)), by a special majority in both Houses.

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Judiciary — Preparation

This question tests your understanding of Judiciary, a key topic in the General Knowledge section. The detailed solution above uses a step-by-step approach to show the reasoning, and where available, a shortcut that helps you solve similar questions in under 90 seconds during the actual exam.

This topic covers the Indian judiciary: the Supreme Court, High Courts and subordinate courts, the appointment and removal of judges, the collegium system, original, appellate and advisory jurisdiction, judicial review, public interest litigation, and bodies such as Lok Adalats and tribunals. Exams test the article that establishes the Supreme Court (Article 124), its advisory jurisdiction (Article 143), the power of High Courts to issue writs (Article 226), and the process for removing judges. Landmark judgments and the first holders of key judicial posts are also common, especially in law entrance exams such as CLAT and MAH LAW CET. Practise the judiciary questions below, written in the style of the general awareness sections of exams such as SSC, banking, railways, CUET GAT, MAH CET and CLAT. Each question comes with a detailed explanation that adds related facts, so every question helps you revise more than one point.

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