Definition
The constitutional process for removal of the President (Article 61) or Judges of the Supreme Court and High Courts (Article 124(4)) by Parliament on the ground of violation of the Constitution or proved misbehaviour or incapacity.
Impeachment in India is a constitutional process, not an ordinary parliamentary motion. The President may be impeached under Article 61 for violation of the Constitution — by either House (not necessarily Lok Sabha alone). Judges of the Supreme Court and High Courts may be removed under Article 124(4) on grounds of 'proved misbehaviour or incapacity' by a special majority of both Houses. The procedure is elaborate: an inquiry by a three-member committee (Judges Inquiry Act, 1968), recommendation, and then Parliamentary resolution. No President has ever been impeached; no Supreme Court Judge has successfully been removed, though proceedings were initiated against Justice V. Ramaswami in 1993 (motion failed as the ruling party boycotted the vote).
Statutory Definition
Article 61(1), Constitution of India: 'When a President is to be impeached for violation of the Constitution, the charge shall be preferred by either House of Parliament.' Article 124(4): 'A Judge of the Supreme Court shall not be removed from his office except by an order of the President passed after an address by each House of Parliament supported by a majority of the total membership of that House and by a majority of not less than two-thirds of the members of that House present and voting.'
Etymology & Origin
From Old French 'empeechier' (to hinder, to arrest) from Latin 'impedicare' (to entangle, to shackle). Impeachment is a constitutional entanglement — the process by which high officeholders are formally accused and subjected to the accountability of the legislature.
Full Legal Analysis
Impeachment: The Constitution’s Highest Accountability
Impeachment is the Constitution’s ultimate accountability mechanism for the highest constitutional functionaries — the President and judges. It places these offices beyond the ordinary reach of the executive and of simple parliamentary majorities, while ensuring they are not entirely above accountability. The elaborate procedure — inquiry committee, two-House resolution, special majority — reflects the gravity of removing a judge or President and the need for protection against politically motivated removals.
Presidential Impeachment: Article 61
The President may be impeached only for 'violation of the Constitution' — not for policy disagreements or ordinary errors. Procedure: (a) 14 days' notice to the President and to at least 1/4th of the total members of the House preferred the charge; (b) the resolution charging impeachment must be passed by 2/3rd of the total membership of that House; (c) the other House investigates the charge; (d) if the other House also passes the resolution by 2/3rd of its total membership, the President is deemed to be impeached from the date of passage. The President may appear and be represented in proceedings.
Removal of Judges: Article 124(4)
Supreme Court and High Court judges can only be removed by an address of both Houses of Parliament by special majority (majority of total membership AND 2/3rd of members present and voting in each House). The Judges Inquiry Act, 1968 provides the procedure for a 3-member inquiry committee (comprising a Supreme Court judge, a High Court Chief Justice, and a distinguished jurist) to investigate the charges before Parliament votes.
V. Ramaswami Impeachment Motion (1993)
The only serious impeachment attempt against a sitting Supreme Court judge was against Justice V. Ramaswami in 1993. The three-member inquiry committee found him guilty of wilful acts and gross misuse of privileges as Chief Justice of Punjab and Haryana. However, in the Lok Sabha vote, the ruling Congress party boycotted the vote, resulting in the motion not getting the required special majority — Justice Ramaswami remained on the Bench. He subsequently retired. The episode raised profound questions about political interference in judicial accountability.
“Impeachment is a Constitutional safety valve — the means by which the law subjects even its highest officers to accountability. That it has never succeeded against a judge speaks both to judicial integrity and to the political calculations that surround it.”
This Term in Indian Statutes
Constitution of India, 1950
"When a President is to be impeached for violation of the Constitution, the charge shall be preferred by either House of Parliament."
Presidential impeachment for violation of Constitution only — initiated by either House
Constitution of India, 1950
"A Judge of the Supreme Court shall not be removed from his office except by an order of the President passed after an address by each House of Parliament supported by a majority of the total membership of that House and by a majority of not less than two-thirds of the members of that House present and voting, has been presented to the President in the same session for such removal on the ground of proved misbehaviour or incapacity."
Supreme Court judge removal: special majority in both Houses + proved misbehaviour or incapacity
