To avoid impeachment stain,Justice Sen quits

After his elevation as judge in 2003,Sen had failed to declare that he had collected an amount of Rs 33 lakh earlier as a receiver in a case. He returned the money with interest after the High Court in 2006 directed him to do so.

In 2008,he turned down then Chief Justice of India K G Balakrishnan’s advice to step down because of the controversy. Even after the Rajya Sabha voted in favour of his impeachment,he said,“I will defend myself in the Lok Sabha,but if the motion is adopted there also,I will move the Supreme Court,” and,“there is no question of resigning because I have not committed any wrong…”

Now,his lawyer Subash Bhattacharya said,“after the voting in the Rajya Sabha on August 18,Sen felt he had failed to convince the members. So he decided to resign.” Bhattacharya alleged “political motivation” behind the motion.

Sen was meant to confirm his presence in the Lok Sabha by August 30 but sought a day’s extension,which his lawyer says was not granted. A source close to Sen said he is disturbed and wants to be with his son if he needs a second surgery after September 3. The 17-year-old underwent the first abdominal surgery in the third week of August,then was advised another a few days ago.

Sen has sent an annexure with the resignation letter. Bhattacharya said it contains his replies to various questions raised during the Rajya Sabha – he was allegedly not given the opportunity to reply in the House.

Lok Sabha secretary-general Viswanathan was not sure if impeachment proceedings would fall through once the judge has resigned. “It is a grey area and we will obtain legal opinion before taking a final view.” A Parliament official said,“There is no precedent in independent India’s history. We will go by the opinion of the AG.”

What has made the issue more complex is the decision of Justice P D Dinakaran of the Sikkim High Court to withdraw his resignation. The question this raised was how an impeachment exercise could resume if a judge who once quit subsequently changed his mind.

Lok Sabha Speaker Meira Kumar will take a call only after the President disposes of the matter. The former has five working days left; both Houses need to pass an impeachment motion in the same session to make it stand.

(With ENS inputs in New Delhi)