New Delhi, December 10: 107 Members of Parliament from the INDIA bloc, led by the DMK, submitted an impeachment notice to Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla on Tuesday, demanding the removal of Madras High Court judge G.R. Swaminathan. The notice challenges his controversial orders dated December 1 and 3, which instructed the Subramaniya Swamy temple authorities at Thirupparankundram to allow the lighting of lamps on a pillar (deepathoon) near a dargah situated on a hill.
The MPs' notice accuses Justice Swaminathan, who sits on the Madurai bench of the Madras High Court, of actions that “raise serious questions regarding impartiality, transparency, and the secular functioning of the judiciary.” The notice alleges that the judge showed “undue favouritism” towards senior advocate M. Sricharan Ranganathan and lawyers from a specific community. Additionally, it criticizes his decisions as being influenced by a “particular political ideology,” which, they argue, contradicts the constitutional principle of secularism.
Copies of the impeachment notice were also sent to President Droupadi Murmu and Chief Justice of India Justice Surya Kant.
Among those who signed the notice were prominent leaders such as Priyanka Gandhi Vadra, Akhilesh Yadav, T. R. Baalu, Kanimozhi, and Supriya Sule. The controversy stems from Justice Swaminathan’s December 3 ruling, which allowed a group of petitioners to light the lamp on the pillar near the dargah and ordered CISF protection for the group. The Tamil Nadu police had initially blocked the group from lighting the lamp, sparking a public uproar. This led the state government to move the Supreme Court, which has since admitted Tamil Nadu’s plea.
