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{{EngvarB|date=August 2014}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=August 2014}}
{{Infobox officeholder
| name = V. Ramaswami
| image =
| imagesize = 240px
| caption =
| office1 = Judge of [[Supreme Court of India]]
| termstart1 = 6 October 1989
| termend1 = 14 February 1994
| nominator1 =
| appointer1 =
| predecessor1 =
| successor1 =
| office2 = [[Punjab and Haryana High Court#Former Chief Justices|Chief Justice, Punjab and Haryana High Court]]
| termstart2 = 12 November 1987
| termend2 = 6 October 1989
| nominator2 = [[Debi Singh Tewatia]]
| appointer2 = Shanti Sarup Dewan
| predecessor2 =
| successor2 =
| birth_date = {{birth date|df=yes|1929|2|15}}
| birth_place =
| death_date =
| death_place =
|alma_mater =
| spouse =
}}

'''Veeraswami Ramaswami''' was a judge of the [[Supreme Court of India]] and the first judge against whom removal proceedings were initiated in independent [[India]].

Another judge to face removal proceedings is [[Soumitra Sen]] of Calcutta High Court, proceedings against whom were initiated in Rajya Sabha on 17 August 2011. Another such motion was initiated against Chief Justice Dinakaran of Sikkim High Court who then resigned from his post.

== Early life and education ==
Ramaswami was born on 15 February 1929. He spent his school years in Hindu High School in [[Srivilliputhur]]. He was educated in [[The American College in Madurai]] and received a degree in Law from [[Dr. Ambedkar Government Law College, Chennai|Madras Law College]].<ref name="profile">[http://www.supremecourtofindia.nic.in/judges/bio/vramaswami.htm Profile of V. Ramaswami in Supreme Court of India website]</ref>

== Professional career ==
He began his career by practising both civil and criminal law at the [[Madras High Court]]. He was appointed permanent Judge of the Madras High Court from 31 January 1971. He was later transferred and appointed Chief Justice of [[Punjab (India)|Punjab]] and [[Haryana]] High Court on 12 November 1987. At the height of his career, he was appointed Judge of the Supreme Court on 6 October 1989 from which he retired on 14 February 1994.<ref name="profile"/>

== Removal proceedings ==

===Investigation===
A scandal surfaced in the middle of year 1990 when several media outlets reported about his ostentatious expenditure on his official residence during his tenure as a Chief Justice of [[Punjab (India)|Punjab]] and [[Haryana]] . In a serious turn of events, on 1 February 1991, Supreme Court Bar Assn passed a resolution calling for his impeachment and requesting Chief justice not assign him any further legal work. [[Bharatiya Janata Party]] and Left parties submitted a notice of motion to the Indian Parliament seeking his removal from office.

Accepting the motion on 12 March 1991, Speaker [[Rabi Ray]] constituted a committee composed of Justice P B Sawant of the Supreme Court, Chief Justice [[Prabodh Dinkarrao Desai]] of the Bombay High Court and Justice O Chinnappa Reddy, retired judge of the Supreme Court to investigate the affair. The committee found Ramaswami guilty of 11 out of 14 charges.

===Removal motion in the Lok Sabha (failed)===
The removal motion was placed in the Lok Sabha for debate and voting on 10 May 1993. Well known lawyer and a [[Indian National Congress|Congress]] politician [[Kapil Sibal]] was his defence lawyer.<ref name="Advocate recounts first ever impeachment proceedings in Parliament">{{cite news | url=http://articles.timesofindia.indiatimes.com/2011-08-20/india/29908808_1_punjab-and-haryana-impeachment-proceedings-justice-soumitra-sen | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131224122241/http://articles.timesofindia.indiatimes.com/2011-08-20/india/29908808_1_punjab-and-haryana-impeachment-proceedings-justice-soumitra-sen | url-status=dead | archive-date=24 December 2013 | title=Advocate recounts first ever impeachment proceedings in Parliament | date=20 Aug 2011 | work=[[The Times of India]] | access-date=27 April 2012}}</ref> Of 401 members present in the Lok Sabha that day, there were 196 votes for impeachment and no votes against and 205 abstentions by ruling [[Indian National Congress|Congress]] and its allies. The motion which requires two-thirds majority of members present and voting of that house and an absolute majority of its total membership of that house thus failed to pass.<ref>{{cite news|title=Impeachment that wasn't|url=http://in.news.yahoo.com/48/20080909/814/tnl-impeachment-that-wasn-t.html|work=Yahoo India News}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|title=Kolkata judge's case adds to judiciary woes|url=http://articles.timesofindia.indiatimes.com/2008-09-09/india/27891076_1_impeachment-motion-justice-sen-s-justice-sen|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121023194934/http://articles.timesofindia.indiatimes.com/2008-09-09/india/27891076_1_impeachment-motion-justice-sen-s-justice-sen|url-status=dead|archive-date=23 October 2012|work=[[The Times of India]]|date=9 September 2008}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|title=Calcutta High Court judge to be impeached |url=http://www.zeenews.com/news467505.html|work=Zee News|date=29 April 2009}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|title=Article 218 in The Constitution of India|url=https://indiankanoon.org/doc/1923298/}}</ref><ref>https://indiankanoon.org/doc/1923298/</ref><ref>{{cite news|title=Article 124 of Constitution of India|url=https://www.lawnotes.in/Article_124_of_Constitution_of_India}}</ref>

The said decision was challenged before the Supreme Court and they upheld the decision of the Parliament.

== 1999 Lok Sabha election ==
He contested from [[Sivakasi]] constituency as an [[Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam]] (ADMK) candidate in 1999 election against [[Vaiko]] from [[Marumalarchi Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam]]. Thamaraikani from ADMK who was expelled from the party contested as an independent.<ref>{{cite news|title=Thamaraikkani provides firecrackers in Sivakasi|url=http://www.rediff.com/election/1999/aug/19tn.htm|work=rediff\date=19 August 1999}}</ref> He lost the election to Vaiko though he secured 32.21% of the votes. Vaiko received 41.8% and [[Thamaraikani]] 4.74% of the votes.<ref>[http://www.indian-elections.com/tamilnadu/sivakasi-results-1999.html Indian Elections:Parliamentary Constituency: Sivakasi]</ref>

== See also ==
* [[P. D. Dinakaran]] - former High Court Chief Justice against whom Parliament initiated impeachment proceedings.
* [[Soumitra Sen]] - former Calcutta High Court judge who became the first judge in Independent India to be impeached by Rajya Sabha.

== References ==
{{Reflist}}

{{authority control}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Ramaswami, V.}}
[[Category:Justices of the Supreme Court of India]]
[[Category:1929 births]]
[[Category:Living people]]
[[Category:People from Virudhunagar district]]
[[Category:Impeached Indian officials]]
[[Category:Judges of the Madras High Court]]
[[Category:Chief Justices of the Punjab and Haryana High Court]]
[[Category:20th-century Indian judges]]

V. Ramaswami - Revision history

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