Impeachment motion against judge amounts to ‘weaponisation’ of Constitution: Pawan Kalyan

Andhra Pradesh Deputy Chief Minister K. Pawan Kalyan said the motion for impeachment of a Madras High Court judge that was moved in the Parliament by DMK MPs amounted to weaponisation of the Constitution and blatant political intimidation. “It was nothing but threatening the judiciary in the name of pseudo-secularism,” he noted. 

He stated in a social media post that when a constitutional Bench of the Supreme Court delivered the Sabarimala judgment overturning a centuries-old, deeply cherished custom regarding entry into one of the most sacred Hindu sites and triggering massive social unrest and protests, no judge was impeached. 

“Their ruling, which fundamentally altered a core religious practice, was met only with legal review petitions, not political motions for removal.” 

Recently, when a former Chief Justice of India (CJI) publicly made a scornful comment: “Go and ask the deity itself to do something now. You say you are a staunch devotee of Lord Vishnu. So go and pray now,” he faced zero accountability. 

The former CJI was neither asked to apologise nor was he put through an impeachment motion. In fact, when an advocate dared to abuse the former CJI, all political parties rushed to condemn the act, strongly defending the sanctity of the judge. 

Yet today, the political establishment has set a dramatically different standard. A sitting High Court Judge is being targeted just because he delivered a judgment upholding the right of believers to light a Deepam (lamp) and practice a long-standing ritual on property legally recognised as belonging to a religious institution. The Constitution of India is clear that a judge can only be impeached on grounds of proven misbehaviour or incapacity.

The Deputy CM questioned why some political parties were going to such extreme lengths to impeach a judge for a judgment that upholds the right to practice the Hindu faith.

He wondered if this was not a cynical attempt to strong-arm and silence the broader judiciary and a signal to judges that they must be “careful” when ruling in cases about Hindu traditional practices and faith.

He asserted that the need of the hour in Bharat is the establishment of the Sanatana DharmaRakshana Board, where devotees actively manage their temples and religious affairs without fear of political interference or judicial overreach spurred by political vendettas.

“Practicing Sanatana Dharma does not equate to being against any other religion or faiths. Secularism is a two-way street, and every religion must be respected and treated equally and fairly, that includes Hindus as well”, Mr. Kalyan added.