New Delhi: Anna Hazare's arrest might continue to dominate proceedings in Parliament today, but there's another issue that will see Rajya Sabha make history as it prepares to begin impeachment proceedings against Justice Soumitra Sen of the Calcutta High Court.
It's a first as Justice Sen, facing charges of misconduct, will be the first judge to be impeached by the Upper House.
As the House turns into a courtroom in the afternoon, each member will turn jury member to vote on the impeachment motion against Justice Sen.
The proceedings come after the controversial judge was found guilty by a special committee constituted by Rajya Sabha chairman Hamid Ansari. The committee found charges of financial irregularities against Justice Sen to be correct. He is accused of misappropriating nearly Rs. 24 lakh in the 1990s when he was a lawyer and was appointed receiver by the Calcutta High Court.
The 53-year-old judge of the Calcutta High Court or his representative will appear before the bar that will be raised at the entrance of the House facing the Chair. He will take his seat while his lawyers will sit behind him.
CPI(M) leader Sitaram Yechury will set the ball rolling as he moves the impeachment motion against the judge in the House. Justice Sen will be given 90 minutes to present his case. Opposition will then speak next as the House deliberates on the matter. Since MPs will be acting as jury members, they will face no whip. The motion will be passed if at least 50% of the MPs are in attendance and two-thirds of them vote for the motion.
To ensure that the motion goes through, the Opposition led by the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) accepted the Left's request to reject a demand for a three-day boycott of the House over Mr Hazare's arrest.
If the Rajya Sabha passes the motion, it will then go to the Lok Sabha within a week. Under the Constitution, a judge of a high court or the Supreme Court can be removed by the President by a motion adopted in both the Houses of Parliament by two-thirds majority in the same session on "proved misconduct and incapacity".
Something that saw the first-ever case of impeachment of Justice V Ramasami of the Supreme Court fall through in May 1993 in the Lok Sabha as the ruling Congress abstained from voting. During that time, Union Minister Kapil Sibal, a senior advocate also, had appeared for Justice Ramasamy before the bar of the Lok Sabha.
Hence, Justice Sen's fate will depend on what stand the UPA takes.
"These are procedures. We can't make stand public before the motion gets taken up", Congress spokesperson Abhishek Manu Singhvi said.
If Justice Sen's impeachment motion moves through both the Houses, he will become the first Indian judge to be removed by the Parliament.
It's a first as Justice Sen, facing charges of misconduct, will be the first judge to be impeached by the Upper House.
As the House turns into a courtroom in the afternoon, each member will turn jury member to vote on the impeachment motion against Justice Sen.
The proceedings come after the controversial judge was found guilty by a special committee constituted by Rajya Sabha chairman Hamid Ansari. The committee found charges of financial irregularities against Justice Sen to be correct. He is accused of misappropriating nearly Rs. 24 lakh in the 1990s when he was a lawyer and was appointed receiver by the Calcutta High Court.
The 53-year-old judge of the Calcutta High Court or his representative will appear before the bar that will be raised at the entrance of the House facing the Chair. He will take his seat while his lawyers will sit behind him.
CPI(M) leader Sitaram Yechury will set the ball rolling as he moves the impeachment motion against the judge in the House. Justice Sen will be given 90 minutes to present his case. Opposition will then speak next as the House deliberates on the matter. Since MPs will be acting as jury members, they will face no whip. The motion will be passed if at least 50% of the MPs are in attendance and two-thirds of them vote for the motion.
To ensure that the motion goes through, the Opposition led by the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) accepted the Left's request to reject a demand for a three-day boycott of the House over Mr Hazare's arrest.
If the Rajya Sabha passes the motion, it will then go to the Lok Sabha within a week. Under the Constitution, a judge of a high court or the Supreme Court can be removed by the President by a motion adopted in both the Houses of Parliament by two-thirds majority in the same session on "proved misconduct and incapacity".
Something that saw the first-ever case of impeachment of Justice V Ramasami of the Supreme Court fall through in May 1993 in the Lok Sabha as the ruling Congress abstained from voting. During that time, Union Minister Kapil Sibal, a senior advocate also, had appeared for Justice Ramasamy before the bar of the Lok Sabha.
Hence, Justice Sen's fate will depend on what stand the UPA takes.
"These are procedures. We can't make stand public before the motion gets taken up", Congress spokesperson Abhishek Manu Singhvi said.
If Justice Sen's impeachment motion moves through both the Houses, he will become the first Indian judge to be removed by the Parliament.
No comments:
Post a Comment