Decision to reject impeachment notice against CJI Dipak Misra not hasty, adhered to constitutional provisions: Venkaiah Naidu

Rajya Sabha chairman Venkaiah Naidu on Tuesday said his decision of rejecting the impeachment motion against Chief Justice of India Dipak Misra was "timely and not a hasty one" and came after over a month of due diligence.

Rajya Sabha chairman M. Venkaiah Naidu. Photo PTI

NEW DELHI: A day after he was slammed by the Congress party for rejecting the impeachment motion against the Chief Justice of India Dipak Misra, Rajya Sabha chairman Venkaiah Naidu on Tuesday said his decision was "timely and not a hasty one" and came after over a month of due diligence. Naidu had on Monday rejected the notice by seven opposition parties, led by the Congress, to impeach the chief justice of India. His order was slammed as "hasty, illegal and illinformed" by the Congress. "Freedom of expression allows that but ultimately truth prevails. I have done the just thing in the best possible manner expected of me," PTI sources quoted Naidu as saying. The vice president said his decision was in strict conformity with the provisions of the Constitution and the Judges Inquiry Act of 1968. "I have done my job and am satisfied with it, Naidu was quoted as telling a group of 10 Supreme Court lawyers who met him to compliment him over the decision. The Rajya Sabha chairman's office is not a mere post office but a constitutional functionary," he said. Congress had alleged that Naidu rejected the impeachment notice without a full-fledged enquiry and said the Opposition will move Supreme Court against his decision. Reacting to that Naidu on Tuesday said that the chief justice of India is the highest judicial functionary of the country and "any issue in public domain concerning him requires to be resolved at the earliest following prescribed procedures so as to prevent the atmosphere from being further vitiated".