The impeachment of Justice Soumitra Sen has greatly upset former Lok Sabha Speaker Somnath Chatterjee. Mr Chatter-jee, who does not hesitate to call a spade a spade, described the impeachment by the Rajya Sabha as a “travesty of justice.”
Expressing his anguish over the treatment meted out to Justice Sen in the Upper House, the former Speaker observed in a telephone interview, “It was a quasi-criminal trial. It was a sad day for the judiciary and the Parliament.”
Mr. Chatterjee, who is also an eminent barrister, said that the proceedings of the Rajya Sabha suggested that it was not the impeachment of an individual judge but the entire judiciary.
“Instead of confining the discussion to look into the supposed judicial misconduct of an individual, they have now started questioning the manner in which judges are appointed. Tell me how is this relevant,” he asked.
Mr Chatterjee did not spare his former party colleague Sitaram Yechury. “He opened the debate, and instead of focusing on the merits of the issue started delivering a general lecture,” the former Speaker, who had fallen foul of the CPI (M) during his time as presiding officer of the Lower House, lamented.
Mr Chatterjee also voiced his displeasure over the manner in which the fate of Justice Sen was decided.
“After he made his submission, Justice Sen was asked to leave, and for the next couple of hours the debate went on in the House in his absence. This I think was not fair,” he noted.