Parliament Can Initiate Judges Removal Process Without CJI Recommendation : Supreme Court

The Supreme Court has clarified that Parliament can initiate the process to remove a judge even if the Chief Justice of India (CJI) does not recommend it.

A Bench of Justices Dipankar Datta and Augustine George Masih ruled that the powers of Parliament under Articles 124 and 217 of the Constitution, and the Judges (Inquiry) Act, 1968, are not restricted by the CJI’s opinion or the outcome of an in-house inquiry.

The Court emphasised that the in-house mechanism is merely an internal, non-statutory process without legal force.

Therefore, MPs are free to bring a motion for judicial removal independently.