Procedure and Grounds for Removal of Judges

The judges of the Supreme Court and the High Court can be removed by following the
procedure given in the constitution itself. The judge can be removed on grounds of proved
misbehaviour or incapacity by an address by both houses of the parliament supported by-
 majority of the total membership of that house, and
 majority of not less than two-third members of that house present and voting

and it shall be presented to the president in the same session. Only by the order of the
president, a judge shall be removed. The constitutional requirement is that misbehaviour or
incapacity shall be ‘proved’ but it does not lay any guidelines for proving such grounds.
Article 125 (5) provides provision for parliament to make such laws necessary for carrying
out investigation and proving charges against the judge. 

In pursuance to powers given to Parliament under Article 125 (5), it has enacted ‘The Judges
Inquiry Act, 1968’. As per this act,
 A notice for initiating the proceeding for the removal of the judge has to be signed by
not less than 100 members of the House of People (Lok Sabha) and needs to be given
to the speaker. In case of the Council of States, the notice needs to be signed by at
least 50 members of that house and addressed to the chairman. The speaker or
chairman may accept or refuse the motion. The motion is now pending in the
respective house.
 A committee consisting of three members, chief justice or a judge of the supreme
court, chief justice of a high court and a distinct jurist, shall be made by the speaker or
chairman as the case may be.
 If the notice for removal is given in both houses on the same day, the motion needs to
be admitted in both houses. A joint committee shall be formed by the speaker and
chairman consisting of fifteen members of which ten are to be nominated by the
speaker and five by the chairman.
 If the charges are of any physical or mental incapacity, a medical board shall be
appointed by the speaker or chairman or jointly, as the case may be, which would
conduct a medical examination of the judge and submit its report to the committee
constituted.
 The committee shall have the power of a civil court under the Code of Civil
Procedure, 1908 with respect to summoning persons, examining oath, requiring
documents, receiving evidence, and any other matter prescribed. 
 On completion of the inquiry, the committee shall submit the report to the speaker or
the chairman or to both when formed jointly. If the findings of the report do not prove
any guilt or incapacity on the part of the judge, the matter need not be proceeded
with.  But if the report finds the judge guilty, it should be taken up in the house where
the motion is pending. 
 The further proceeding will be as described in Article 124 and Article 218. The
motion needs to be adopted, having prescribed majority, in both houses and sent to the
president who will then issue the order for removal of the judge.