New Delhi: The Opposition is toying with the idea of moving an impeachment motion in the Rajya Sabha against Chief Justice of India Dipak Misra in the wake of four Supreme Court judges speaking out against the functioning of the apex court under his watch.

While some of the smaller parties in the Opposition are keen on this course of action, much will depend on the Congress. Only if the Congress agrees will it be possible to get the signatures of 50 Rajya Sabha MPs that will be needed for an impeachment motion to be admitted. The Congress, however, is holding its cards close to its chest.

Article 124 of the Constitution, which deals with the establishment and constitution of the highest court of the land, provides for the impeachment of a Supreme Court judge. According to Clauses 4 and 5 of Article 124, a Supreme Court judge can be removed only by the President after each House of Parliament supports the impeachment by a two-thirds majority.

Getting to this stage is a long process. First, a motion has to be moved in either House. If it is tabled in the Lok Sabha, it has to be supported by 100 members. And, if it is moved in the Rajya Sabha, 50 members need to sign up as the strength of the upper House is lesser.

Once the motion is presented, the presiding officer of the House is empowered by The Judges (Inquiry) Act, 1968, and the Judges (Inquiry) Rules, 1969, to constitute a committee of three persons - the Chief Justice of India or a judge of the Supreme Court, a high court chief justice and an eminent jurist - to inquire into the charges of misbehaviour against the judge to be impeached.

All sides are heard by the committee, which submits its report to the presiding officer of the House where the impeachment motion has been admitted. If the committee finds the judge guilty, the presiding officer places the report along with the impeachment motion before the House for the proceedings to begin.

No judge has been impeached in India though the proceedings had been started a few times. The proceedings reached the final stage in the case of two judges - V. Ramaswami in 1993 and Soumitra Sen in 2012. While the motion for impeachment fell through in the case of Ramaswami for lack of votes, Sen resigned after the Rajya Sabha voted to impeach him.

A recent move to impeach a judge of Madhya Pradesh High Court, S.K. Gangele, came a cropper as the inquiry committee did not find him guilty of the sexual harassment charge levelled against him.

Even as Opposition members are weighing the odds, it had to deal with the fallout of CPI parliamentarian D. Raja calling on Justice J. Chelameswar, one of the four judges who spoke out on Friday, at his residence shortly after the widely televised news conference there.

The BJP immediately took to social and mainstream media to project the decision of the four judges as "politically motivated".

While Raja defended his visit as meeting a person he has known for years after his extraordinary step, many in the Opposition were uneasy with the veteran leader's move.

Former Jammu and Kashmir chief minister Omar Abdullah articulated that sentiment in a tweet: "I have the greatest regard for D Raja Sahib but this move of his to rush to Justice Chelameswar's house was hasty & ill considered. Plays into the hands of those who want to discredit what the Hon judges said/did."