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On which of the following grounds can a Judge of the Supreme Court or a High Court be impeached? 1. Violation of the Constitution 2. Proved misbehaviour 3. Incapacity Select the. correct answer using the code given below :
Explanation
According to the Constitution of India, a judge of the Supreme Court or a High Court can be removed from office only on two specific grounds: 'proved misbehaviour' or 'incapacity' [c1, c3, t1]. Article 124(4) for Supreme Court judges and Article 217 for High Court judges mandate that the removal order is passed by the President after an address by each House of Parliament, supported by a special majority [c3, t8]. While 'Violation of the Constitution' is the specific ground for the impeachment of the President of India under Article 61, it is not a listed ground for the removal of judges [t1, t6]. The Judges (Inquiry) Act, 1968, further regulates the procedure for investigating these two specific grounds [t5, t8]. Therefore, only statements 2 and 3 are correct grounds for the impeachment of judges in the Indian judicial system.
Sources
- [1] Indian Constitution at Work, Political Science Class XI (NCERT 2025 ed.) > Chapter 6: JUDICIARY > Removal of Judges > p. 128
- [2] Indian Polity, M. Laxmikanth(7th ed.) > Chapter 34: High Court > TENURE, REMOVAL AND TRANSFER > p. 355
- [3] https://www.thehindu.com/news/national/what-is-the-procedure-for-removing-judges-explained/article68993259.ece