Political Impeachment Threat: A Blow to Judicial Independence

• Suggestions to impeach Justice GR Swaminathan for a judgment are seen as a political threat to judicial independence.
• The article argues that impeachment is a rare constitutional power for "proved misbehaviour" or incapacity, not for disagreement with judicial reasoning.
• Using impeachment as a political weapon creates fear among judges and erodes the judiciary's interpretive freedom.
• Disagreement with judgments should be addressed through appeals, reviews, or academic debate, not through calls for impeachment.
• The author emphasizes that the Constitution reserves impeachment for the gravest lapses, not as a tool for political coercion or ideological retribution.

Why It Matters: Calls for impeachment over judgments erode judicial independence.