Justice Soumitra Sen of the Calcutta High Court is the second judge in the country's history to face removal proceedings in Parliament. The first was V. Ramaswami, former Chief Justice of the Punjab and Haryana High Court, who later became a Supreme Court judge, though the motion for his removal failed.
The report of a three-member committee, headed by Justice B. Sudershan Reddy of the Supreme Court, said it felt that Justice Sen was “guilty of misbehaviour” under Article 124(4) read with Article 217(1) (b) of the Constitution.
Article 124(4), when read with Article 217(1) (b), states that a High Court judge shall not be removed from his office except on the grounds of ‘proved misbehaviour.' The word, ‘proved,' only means proved to the satisfaction of a requisite majority of Parliament.
The indictment of Justice Sen paves the way for Parliament to take up the motion for his removal, as he was found guilty of collecting Rs.33,22,800 from a purchaser of goods, keeping it in a savings bank account and misrepresenting facts to the High Court.
Under the Judges Inquiry Act, the motion will now have to be moved in the Rajya Sabha and debated upon. Justice Sen will be given an opportunity to rebut the charges, either in person or through counsel. After the debate ends and the judge is heard, if the House decides to put the motion to vote, the resolution has to be passed by a two-thirds majority in both Houses in the same session, failing which the motion is deemed dropped and can only be taken up if the entire process is repeated afresh in any subsequent session. The resolution is then sent to the President who orders the removal of the judge.
