I withdraw it. Sir, I move amendment No. 1185. I consider this amendment to be very important and I desire the House should listen. This has reference to the impeachment of the President. It is provided that as soon as the appropriate House passes a resolution declaring that the charge against the President has been substantiated–I refer to clause (4) of article 50–it will have the effect of removing the President “as from the date on which the resolution is passed“. I submit, Sir, that this will lead to an impasse. By another article, article 54, clause (1), it is provided that as soon as the President is removed by a resolution, the Vice-President steps in from the ‘date’ on which the President is removed and, under article 54, clause (1), the Vice-President shall act “until the date on which” the new President enters upon his office. There is an amendment to that article also which is connected with this: that is amendment No. 1207. I submit, Sir, that the President, if he is removed, is removed with effect from the time when the resolution is passed and not from the date. I will ask the House to consider a situation. Supposing the appropriate House under clause (4) of article 50 passes a resolution, say, at one o’clock, then according to clause (4) the President is removed as from the date on which the resolution is passed. I ask what will happen to acts done by the President on that date before one o’clock? The President may have declared an emergency under the Constitution in the morning; he may have, in the morning, assented to Bills. He may have appointed a Judge of the Federal Court; he may have dismissed or appointed a Ministry in the morning before his removal. If we allow clause (4) to remain as it is the President is removed with effect from the date on which the resolution is passed, that is, with effect from the period after the previous mid-night. The date begins after the mid-night. I ask what will happen to acts done by the President during the fateful day before his removal? I submit, Sir, his dismissal or removal must have reference to the particular time when he is removed. Otherwise, the Vice-President will step in as soon as there is a vacancy. This clause says the vacancy has effect from the date of his removal, that is before his removal. The Vice-President says, “I am the President with effect from the early morning of the ‘date’ of his removal“. What will happen if the Vice-President acts retrospectively? He says, ‘I am the President in the place of the President‘. The President says, ‘I was the President duly functioning before and up to the very moment of my removal‘. I submit, Sir, that the words that he is removed with effect from the date on which the resolution is passed would be unhappy and would lead to absurd consequences. It will lead to a constitutional impasse and probably the Federal Court will have to decide it without any data. Commonsense says that the President should function till the time, that is the moment when he is dismissed, immediately after the resolution is carried. As soon as the resolution is carried, the President ceases to function. Up to that time his acts should be upheld and for that purpose the amendment is necessary. The text says that “He ceases to function with effect from the date on which he is removed” but the amendment says “that he would be removed with effect from the point of time the resolution is passed“. There is a similar amendment to article 54 saying that the Vice-President shall act as President until the date on which the new President is appointed. In fact that must also be linked up with the point of time at which the new President is elected. If we provided for a whole day instead of a particular point of time, it will lead to absurdities. I submit this should be carefully considered by the House and accepted. The legality of the President’s acts on the date of his removal but prior to the actual moment of his removal will be jeopardy.
