Sen second judge ever to face impeachment process
August 17th, 2011 - 5:13 pm ICT by IANS New Delhi, Aug 17 (IANS) Justice Soumitra Sen of the Calcutta High Court will be the second judge in Indian history to face impeachment proceedings for unbecoming conduct.
IANS seeks to answer some questions regarding this case that has attracted wide attention:
What is impeachment?
Impeachment literally means being charged for misconduct. Under the constitution, judges, chief justices of the Supreme Court and high courts can only be removed after being charged with “proven misconduct and incapacity” by the president of India on a motion adopted in both houses of parliament by two-thirds majority.
What is the procedure?
Each Rajya Sabha member will vote on the impeachment motion against Justice Sen, who is the first judge to face impeachment proceedings in the Rajya Sabha. Since the MPs will be acting as jury members they will face no whip.
The motion will be passed if at least 50 percent of the MPs are present and two-thirds of them vote for the motion. If the Rajya Sabha passes the motion, it will then go to the Lok Sabha within a week.
What he has been accused of?
Justice Sen is accused of misappropriating around Rs.24 lakh in the 1990s when he was a lawyer and was appointed receiver by the Calcutta High Court.
Other impeachment motions in the country?
The first case of impeachment of a judge in India was of Justice V. Ramaswami of the Supreme Court in May 1993. The motion fell through in the Lok Sabha as the ruling Congress abstained from voting. Kapil Sibal, a senior Supreme Court advocate, and now a cabinet minister, defended Justice Ramaswami before the bar of the Lok Sabha.
- What does impeachment of a judge mean? (Lead) - Aug 17, 2011
- Impeachment proceedings against Justice Sen begin - Aug 17, 2011
- Rajya Sabha resumes impeachment debate - Aug 18, 2011
- Soumitra Sen accepts Lok Sabha's stand - Sep 06, 2011
- 'Decide impeachment in accordance with conscience' (Second Lead) - Aug 17, 2011
- Impeachment proceedings: Justice Sen claims innocence (Lead) - Aug 17, 2011
- Apex court dismisses plea on Soumitra Sen impeachment - Nov 25, 2011
- Lok Sabha likely to take up Justice Sen impeachment - Sep 03, 2011
- Lok Sabha drops impeachment motion against Sen - Sep 05, 2011
- Rajya Sabha votes to impeach Justice Soumitra Sen (Lead) - Aug 18, 2011
- No impeachment motion against Justice Sen in Lok Sabha - Sep 05, 2011
- Rajya Sabha makes history; votes for Justice Sen's impeachment (Third Lead) - Aug 19, 2011
- Rajya Sabha creates history; votes for Justice Sen's impeachment (Second Lead) - Aug 18, 2011
- Lok Sabha to take up Justice Sen's impeachment Sep 5 - Aug 30, 2011
- Patil forwards Sen's resignation for notification - Sep 03, 2011
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