JOIN USIn a historic proceeding, Justice Sen said his conduct as a judge was never questioned in the course of three years on the Bench. He added: “There have been no complaints against my honesty and integrity.”
In a passionate speech lasting over the stipulated 90 minutes, Justice Sen named former Justice Balakrishnan, who is now the National Human Rights Commission chairman, a number of times to claim that there was “presumption of guilt” and “clear bias” against him since the very beginning.
The proceedings come after Justice Sen was found guilty by a special committee constituted by Rajya Sabha Chairman Hamid Ansari. The committee found charges of financial irregularities against him to be correct and upheld the accusation that he misappropriated nearly Rs 24 lakh in the 1990s when he was a lawyer and was appointed a receiver by the Calcutta High Court.
The Upper House was turned into a courtroom this afternoon with each MP turning jury member to vote on the impeachment motion against Justice Sen.
CPM MP Sitaram Yechury set the impeachment ball rolling as he moved the motion against the judge in the House. The motion was moved after Justice Sen was brought to the bar of the House, following which Ansari gave the go-ahead that the proceedings begin. “This has not happened in our history so far. By moving this motion we are not moving against the judiciary, it is only a motion against one judge. Individual acts of misbehaviour cannot find refuge,” Yechury said.
Pointing out that Justice Sen has been held guilty by two committees, Leader of Opposition in Rajya Sabha Arun Jaitley said the judge “is conclusively guilty of an offence...He is unfit to be in the office of a Judge...The defence of Justice Sen has thus to be rejected.”
On his part, Ansari said: “The matter pertaining to removal of the judge is very serious. The time alloted is four hours excluding 90 minutes alloted to the judge himself.”
Justice Sen’s impeachment was the result of letter Justice Balakrishnan wrote to Prime Minister Manmohan Singh in 2008, recommending that Parliament proceed against the Calcutta High Court judge.
The former Chief Justice of India’s letter was based on the findings of a three-member committee comprising two judges of the SC and a Delhi High Court judge. Of the three judges, Justices A K Patnaik and Justice R M Lodha were promoted within months while Justice A P Shah could not be promoted.
In the face of Yechury’s strongly worded impeachment motion, Justice Sen said: “I am being made sacrificial lamb so that real issues are kept under the carpet… and to show that higher judiciary is clean,” adding that “Justice Balakrishnan became accuser, prosecutor and judge.” “Am I accused of land grabbing? Whether my relatives are amassing wealth? None of my son, son-in-law or brother are accused of amassing wealth,” Justice Sen said, in an obvious reference to the family members of Justice Balarkrishnan, facing charges of acquiring disproportionate assets.
He also referred to the death of key witness in the Provident Fund scam, in which several judges of the higher judiciary were accused of misappropriation of money, and delivery of Rs 15 lakh cash at the residence of a judge of the Punjab and Haryana High Court during the tenure of Justice Balakrishnan.
In his defence, Justice Sen read out a Calcutta HC division Bench decision which had cleared him of the charges of misappropriation of funds during his tenure as court-appointed receiver. “I can at best be accused of mishandling of funds as a young lawyer…but I have not been charged of corruption during the three-year term,” he said.
Justice Sen claimed even if he was impeached he would “scream from the rooftop that I have not misappropriated.” “I have exhausted my remedies in accordance with law. I have come to seek justice. If you impeach me, it will be the gravest of injustice done ever,” he said.