Calcutta High Court Judge Justice Soumitra Sen impeached by the Rajya Sabha

The Rajya Sabha on 18 August 2011 passed a resounding vote to impeach Calcutta High Court judge Justice Soumitra Sen and ruled out his resignation. Sen had himself presented his case against the impeachement motion in the Rajya Sabha on 17 August 2011.

The impeachment motions will be taken up by the Lok Sabha towards the end of August as the Rajya Sabha has given its nod for Sen's removal.

Justice Soumitra Sen of Calcutta High Court is set to become the first-ever judge to be removed after the Rajya Sabha adopted an impeachment motion with over two-thirds majority, the only instance of its kind.
The motion in Rajya Sabha was carried by 189 votes in support and 17 against thereby meeting the requirement that the vote should be supported by two-thirds of members present with the turnout in the House not less than half the total strength.

Sen's defence like that the charge of misconduct was dated to the period when he was not a judge, that he had done no misappropriation as alleged, that he was not heard and that he was the victim of a conspiracy hatched by former Chief Justice of India K J Balakrishnan were all rebutted.

Justice Sen, who was found guilty of misappropriating Rs 33.23 lakh, which were under his custody as a court-appointed receiver in the capacity as a lawyer and misrepresenting facts before a Calcutta court. The Inquiry Committee had found him guilty of misappropriation of funds as a court-appointed receiver in a case where certain money belonging to SAIL was stuck in a dispute in 1983. The motion had sought removal of Justice Sen.