The correct answer is Option 3 -A two-thirds majority of members present and voting, and a majority of the total strength of the House
The motion required a two-thirds majority of the members present and voting, and a majority of the total strength of the House to pass.In 1991 the first-ever motion to remove a Supreme Court Justice was signed by 108 members of Parliament. Justice V. Ramaswami, during his tenure as the Chief Justice of the Punjab and Haryana High Court was accused of misappropriating funds. In 1992, a year after Parliament had started the removal proceedings, a high-profile inquiry commission consisting of Judges of the Supreme Court found Justice V. Ramaswami “guilty of wilful and gross misuses of office . . . and moral turpitude by using public funds for private purposes and reckless disregard of statutory rules” while serving as the Chief Justice of the Punjab and Haryana High Court. Despite this strong indictment, Ramaswami survived the parliamentary motion recommending removal. The motion recommending his removal got the required two-thirds majority among the members who were present and voting, but the Congress party abstained from voting in the House. Therefore, the motion could not get the support of one-half of the total strength of the House. |