Article 124(4)/218
The Only Constitutional Route to Remove a Judge
Article 124(4) (for Supreme Court judges, extended to High Court judges via Article 218) is the sole constitutional mechanism for removing a sitting judge. A judge can be removed only for "proved misbehaviour or incapacity," through a motion passed by a special majority in both Houses of Parliament in the same session, followed by a removal order from the President.
- The special majority required is a majority of the total membership of the House and not less than two-thirds of members present and voting.
- The Judges (Inquiry) Act, 1968 operationalises this article — a parliamentary motion must first be admitted, after which a separate three-member inquiry committee (distinct from the judiciary's own in-house committee) investigates the charges.
- No sitting judge in independent India has ever been removed through this process to completion — attempts against Justice V. Ramaswami (1993, Lok Sabha) and Justice Soumitra Sen (2011, who resigned after the Rajya Sabha passed the motion but before the Lok Sabha could vote) illustrate how rare and difficult formal removal has been.
● Tracked since August 13, 2026 · last seen September 03, 2026 · updates as the daily brief publishes
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