Former Chief Justice of India Ranjan Gogoi's comments in an interview to NDTV have resulted in a privilege motion in parliament against him.
"I go to the Rajya Sabha whenever I feel like it," Justice Gogoi had told NDTV in the interview focused on his memoir "Justice for the Judge".
Justice Gogoi's statements are in contempt of the Rajya Sabha, undermine the dignity of the house and constitute breach of privilege, a notice submitted by the Trinamool Congress said today.
The notice also highlighted the controversial excerpts.
"You ignore the fact that for one or two sessions, I had submitted a letter to the house saying due to Covid (on grounds of medical advice) I will not be attending the session. Until a little before the last Winter Session, you could enter the Rajya Sabha after only an RT-PCR an personally I did not feel comfortable going there. Social distancing norms have been enforced, they are not being observed/. The sitting arrangements I don't find very comfortable. I go to the RS when I feel like, when I think there are matters of importance on which I should speak. I am a nominated member, not governed by any party whip. Therefore, whenever the bell rings for the party members to come, it does not bund me, I go there of my choice and come out on my choice, I am an independent member of the house," Justice Gogoi said in the interview.
He also told NDTV: "What is the magic about RS? I would have been better off in terms of pay, emoluments if I had been chairman of a tribunal. I am not taking a penny from the RS."
Justice Gogoi was responding to a question on his poor attendance since his nomination to the Rajya Sabha.
AdvertisementParliament records show he has an attendance of less than 10 per cent since March 2020.
In his just-published memoir, Justice Gogoi had defended his decision to join the Rajya Sabha four months after retiring from the Supreme Court, a move that had come in for widespread criticism.
AdvertisementThe former Chief Justice explained that he still felt chary about attending parliament because "social distancing norms were not observed" as well as they should.
