CJI Ranjan Gogoi urges PM Modi to initiate impeachment proceedings against Allahabad High Court Justice Shri Narayan Shukla

Recently in a letter addressed by the Hon’ble Chief Justice of India Shri Ranjan Gogoi to the Hon’ble Prime Minister of India Shri Narendra Modi for initiating impeachment proceedings against the sitting Judge of Allahabad High Court Justice Narayan Shukla.

This letter just came after Justice Shukla urged the CJI to resume his judicial work which was withdrawn from his in early January 2018, under the then CJI Justice Shri Dipak Misra, who also recommended his impeachment. 

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IMAGE 1: CJI Ranjan Gogoi, Justice Narayan Shukla and Former CJI Dipak Misra (Left to Right).[1]

The impeachment process is sought on the ground of JUDICIAL INCAPACITY or IMPROPRIETY, after the report submitted by the in-house committee of Indira Banerjee, SK Agnihotri and PK Jaiswal which disclosed the following facts:[2]

1. that he had made handwritten corrections to an order passed by his own bench, so as to allow a medical college in Lucknow permission to take admissions (popularly regarded as Medical Sam and Bribery Case). According to news reports, Shukla had made corrections to an order passed on September 1, 2017 three days later, thereby allowing GCRG Institute of Medical Science to admit fresh students for the academic session 2017-18.
2. that Shukla J had violated orders passed by the CJI Misra-led bench of the Supreme Court, which was hearing cases regarding opening of medical colleges.

Therefore, on the basis of these contentions posed by the report CJI Misra withdrew all judicial work and advised Justice Shukla to either resign or to take voluntary retirement. But, neither he opted for resignation nor for retirement, thus ultimate option was to initiate impeachment proceedings.

[1] Live Law News Network, Initiate Impeachment Motion Against Justice Shri Narayan Shukla: CJI Gogoi Writes To PM Modi, LIVE LAW (June 24, 2019, 08:47 AM), https://www.livelaw.in/top-stories/cji-gogoi-writes-to-pm-modi-about-initiating-impeachment-motion-against-justice-sn-shukla-145860.

[2] Bar & Bench, Impeach Justice Narayan Shukla, CJI Ranjan Gogoi writes to PM Modi, BAR & BENCH (June 24, 2019, 08:36 AM), https://barandbench.com/impeach-justice-narayan-shukla-cji-ranjan-gogoi-writes-to-pm-modi/.