Skip to main content

Soumitra Sen

By



  • Soumitra Sen is a retired judge of the Calcutta High Court. He was the first judge in independent India to be impeached in India's Rajya Sabha for misappropriation of funds.
  • Justice Sen was held guilty of misappropriation of public funds he received in his capacity as receiver appointed by the High Court of Calcutta and misrepresenting facts with regard to it by a committee of three judges set up by former CJI K. G. Balakrishnan in 2007. A year later, Justice Balakrishnan recommended his impeachment to the PM, after which a legal opinion obtained by the law ministry endorsed the judges' committee report.
  • In 2009, 58 MPs of the Rajya Sabha moved a motion for impeachment of Calcutta High Court Judge Soumitra Sen for his involvement in financial misappropriation. Probe panel was set up by Rajya Sabha chairman Hamid Ansari in February 2009. It was headed by SC judge Justice B Sudershan Reddy and had as its members Punjab and Haryana High Court Chief Justice Mukul Mudgal and noted Jurist Fali S. Nariman. The Committee said the charges were duly proved.
  • Article 124(4) when read with proviso (b) to Article 217(1) states that a judge of a high court shall not be removed from his office except on the grounds of 'proved misbehaviour'. The prefix 'proved' only means proved to the satisfaction of requisite majority of Parliament, if so recommended by the inquiry committee.
  • The report said the oral and documentary evidence had established that two separate accounts were opened by Justice Sen as "receiver" in his own name and a total sum aggregating to Rs 33, 22, 800 being the sale proceeds of goods were brought into the two accounts between March 24, 1993 and May 5, 1995.
  • The indictment of Sen paved way for Parliament to take up the impeachment of the judge who had been 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.
  • Subash Bhattacharya the lawyer of Justice Soumitra Sen said that his client is innocent and he will prove he is innocent. As per the Judges Inquiry Act, the motion was moved in the Rajya Sabha and debated upon. Sen was given an opportunity to defend himself through his counsel. 
  • On 18 August 2011, Rajya Sabha passed the impeachment motion by overwhelming majority of 189 votes in favour and 17 against.
  • This is the second case in the history of the country in which Parliament has initiated proceedings for removal of a judge. The first involved Justice V. Ramaswami.
  • Ahead of the impeachment motion against him in the Lok Sabha on September 5 & 6, 2011, he resigned on September 1, 2011. In his resignation letter he said that, "Since the Rajya Sabha has decided in its wisdom that he should not continue as a judge, he has decided not to go to the Lok Sabha, and put in his papers instead."
  • On Jan 15, 2012, it became public through an RTI query that Justice Sen along with his other colleague facing similar accusations Justice P. D. Dinakaran will keep getting their post-retirement benefits, even though they resigned ahead of impeachment proceedings against them, as there are no Constitutional or statutory provisions restricting their entitlements in such a scenario.
Labels:

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Folk Dances of India

By
India is a land of diverse cultures and traditions. Each region of the country has a unique culture, which is also prominently visible in its various art forms. Almost all the regions of the country have their specific folk music and dance, which proves to be a wonderful way of expression of their community and its traditions. Though these folk dances are not as complex as the classical dance forms, they are very beautiful, because of the essence of rawness in them. Be it the Bihu of Assam, Dol-Cholom of Manipur, Hikal of Himachal Pradesh or Chhau of Bihar, each of the Indian folk dance forms comes across as a reflection of the deep sited beliefs and traditions of a particular culture. The folk dances of any community are performed on almost every special occasion and festival, to express elation and joy. These dances are also considered to be auspicious by many of the tribal communities in the country. Many folk dances are dedicated to the presiding deity of the specific commu...
1 comment
Read more

DBT’s Revolutionary Finding for Public Health: Zinc Significantly Lowers Risk of Treatment Failure in Young Children with Serious Infections

By
The Secretary of Department of Biotechnology, Government of India today claimed to have made a significant stride in the field of improving public health with biotech researches. Speaking to Press he said that a revelation of a recent study by DBT will help in saving the new born children provided its outcome is put into proper application. He said treating young children with suspected serious bacterial infection with zinc in addition to standard antibiotics significantly reduces the likelihood of treatment failure (measured as the need for secondary antibiotic treatment within 7 days, need for intensive care, or death within 21 days), according to new research published  Online First  in The Lancet. In 2010, worldwide, infections were responsible for nearly two-thirds of deaths in children under 5, with around two-fifths of deaths occurring within the first month of life. Of the 1 million neonatal deaths that occur in India every year, more than a quarter are attributed ...
2 comments
Read more

K. G. Balakrishnan

By
Konakuppakatil Gopinathan Balakrishnan  (b. 12 May 1945) is presently the Chairperson of the National Human Rights Commission of India. He is a former Chief Justice of India. He was the first judge from the state of Kerala to become the Chief Justice of the Supreme Court. He was also the first person of Dalit origin to ascend to the post of the Chief Justice in the Supreme Court of India. His tenure lasting more than three years has been one of the longest in the Supreme Court of India. Public stances, opinions and views Balakrishnan has tried to exempt the Office of the Chief Justice of India from the purview of the Right to Information Act.   He ordered the Supreme Court registry to file an appeal before the Supreme Court against the Delhi High Court judgement making the office of the CJI amenable to the RTI act.   He has also spoken about the need for amending the RTI act in the interests of the right to privacy. Bal...
Post a Comment
Read more