In a significant show of solidarity, 56 former judges from the Supreme Court and various High Courts have voiced their support for Madras High Court judge, Justice G.R. Swaminathan, who is facing an impeachment motion in the Lok Sabha. The ex-judges have issued a statement denouncing the impeachment move as "anti-democratic, anti-constitutional, and an anathema to the rule of law".
The impeachment motion was initiated by over 100 INDIA bloc MPs on December 9, who submitted a notice to Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla, alleging that Justice Swaminathan's conduct "raises serious questions regarding impartiality". The MPs have accused him of "undue favoritism" towards a senior advocate, M. Sricharan Ranganathan, in deciding cases, and of "favoring advocates from a particular community". They also allege that he has been "deciding cases on the basis of particular political ideology and against the secular principles of the Indian Constitution".
The statement released by the 56 former judges strongly refutes these allegations, asserting that the impeachment motion is a "brazen attempt to browbeat judges who do not fall in line with the ideological and political expectations of a particular section of society". They caution that allowing such an attempt to proceed would "cut at the very roots of our democracy and the independence of the judiciary". The former judges have called upon all Members of Parliament, regardless of party affiliation, members of the Bar, civil society, and citizens to denounce the impeachment proceedings against Justice Swaminathan. They urge that the motion be "nipped in the bud".
The signatories to the statement include prominent legal figures such as former Supreme Court judges Justice Adarsh Goel and Justice Hemant Gupta, as well as five former High Court Chief Justices. These include former Chief Justice of Rajasthan High Court Anil Deo Singh, former Chief Justice Patna High Court Narsimha Reddy, and others. The other retired judges hail from the High Courts of Patna, Karnataka, Sikkim, Madras, Delhi, Jharkhand, Punjab & Haryana, Rajasthan, Telangana, Madhya Pradesh, Allahabad, Gujarat, Kerala and Uttarakhand.
The ex-judges' statement argues that the present move is not an isolated incident, but rather "fits into a clear and deeply troubling pattern in our recent constitutional history, where sections of the political class have sought to discredit and intimidate the higher judiciary whenever outcomes do not align with their interests". They point to previous instances of initiating impeachment proceedings against then Chief Justice of India Dipak Misra in 2018, as well as targeting Chief Justices Ranjan Gogoi, SA Bobde, DY Chandrachud, and the current CJI, Surya Kant. They suggest that these actions are attempts to "defame" senior members of the judiciary when decisions are made that are not favorable to "certain political interests".
The statement emphasizes that the purpose of the impeachment mechanism is to uphold the integrity of the judiciary, not to convert it into a tool of arm-twisting, signaling, and retaliation. The former judges caution that using impeachment as an instrument of pressure strikes at the heart of judicial independence and the basic norms of constitutional democracy.
Justice Swaminathan's recent ruling on the Thirupparankundram Subramaniaswamy temple case has been cited as a possible trigger for the impeachment motion. In his December 1 ruling, Justice Swaminathan stated that the Arulmighu Subramania Swamy Temple was obligated to light the lamp at the Deepathoon, in addition to the customary lighting near the Uchi Pillaiyar Mandapam. The single judge bench clarified that doing so would not encroach upon the rights of the adjacent dargah or the Muslim community. This order sparked controversy, leading to the December 9 notice for a motion to remove the judge.
