New Delhi: Fifty-eight Rajya Sabha Members of Parliament joined hands on Friday to remove Calcutta High Court judge Soumitra Sen for embezzling Rs 32 lakh.
The Rajya Sabha MPs, cutting across party lines, have signed a petition for the removal of Justice Soumitra Sen for allegedly channeling Rs 32 lakh from a lawsuit to his personal bank account.
The MPs have submitted the petition to Rajya Sabha Chairperson and Vice-President Mohammad Hamid Ansari.
Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) MP SS Ahluwalia blamed the United Progressive Alliance (UPA) Government of not taking any action in the case.
"The CJI (Chief Justice of India) had written a letter to the Prime Minister asking for removal of Calcutta High Court judge Soumitra Sen. But the government has done nothing. We have given petition to Rajya Sabha Chairmen with more than 50 signatures asking for impeachment of Soumitra Sen," said Ahluwalia.
Communist Party of India National Secretary and Rajya Sabha member D Raja hoped that the Chairman of the House would take up the issue quickly.
Justice Sen had allegedly received Rs 32 lakh as a court-appointed receiver in 1993 in a lawsuit between the Steel Authority of India Limited (SAIL) and Shipping Corporation of India over the supply of fire bricks.
However, constitutional expert Subhash Kashyap told CNN-IBN that there is no provision of impeachment of any judge in the Constitution.
"The provision is only for removal of a judge. A judge can be removed by the President on recommendation from both the houses of Parliament," explained Kashyap.
Chief Justice of India KG Balakrishnan had already recommended to the Prime Minister Manmohan Singh to remove Justice Sen for alleged misappropriation of money.
CJI Balakrishnan had said that he was seeking removal of Justice Sen as he had rejected the advice to resign or seek voluntary retirement after he had been found guilty of misconduct in an in-house inquiry.
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