6.9.11

Justice Sen dodges impeachment

Parliament failed to keep its date with history on Monday when Justice Soumitra Sen’s resignation forced the Lok Sabha to drop the motion to remove him from the post of judge on Monday. Sen’s removal was set to become a landmark case as Parliament had not removed any judge before him since the Independence. The motion was on its way to fruition when Sen resigned following indications that political parties were not willing to relent barring a couple of outfits like BSP and Trinamool Congress. Lok Sabha Speaker Meira Kumar asked the House if it should drop the proceedings against Sen. Law minister Salman Khurshid stated that Sen had resigned. The members then replied in the affirmative, bringing an end to the issue. Justice Sen had put up a spirited defence in the Upper House during the two-day proceedings on August 17-18, urging the members to not punish him just to “showcase the cleansing of judiciary.” However, he failed to impress the elite gathering when senior leaders led by opposition leader Arun Jaitley punched holes in his defence.

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