Will defend myself,says Justice Sen

Justice Sen told The Indian Express on Tuesday “ If the Inquiry Committee calls me then I will definitely defend myself,” and refused to elaborate. Sources close to Sen who requested anonymity told The Indian Express that no official intimation of the recommendation had reached Sen and he had learnt of it from media reports.

The Judges (Inquiry) Act,1968,stipulates that a motion for removal of a judge involving allegations of misbehaviour or incapacity may be admitted if notice is given by at least 100 members of the Lok Sabha or 50 members of the Rajya Sabha and it can then be referred to a committee for investigation.

Calcutta High Court lawyers condemned the Left-led initiative by about 58 Rajya Sabha MPs to recommend Sen’s removal.

Advocate Amjad Ali,a Congress MP said,“A political party has no right to intervene in this matter unless they have latent political interests. If any party does it,it will be a conscious inroad upon the impartiality of the judicial administration.”

Asish Roy,General Secretary,Bar Association of the Calcutta High Court said, “the CPM remained silent for the last six month on the issue of Justice Saumitra Sen. There is political motivation behind the CPM move to initiate an impeachment motion against Justice Sen.”

Advocate Arunava Ghosh defended Sen saying that he had been held innocent in the matter earlier. Ghosh said,“A division bench of Justice Pranab Kumar Chatterjee and Justice Kalidas Mukherjee had given a clean chit to Justice Sen in a verdict in September,2007. The verdict of the division bench has not been set aside by the Supreme Court. So he is not guilty.”