Odishatv Bureau
Kolkata: Calcutta High Court judge Justice Soumitra Sen, who sent his resignation in writing to the President today, has not yet decided on appearing in the Lok Sabha if it went ahead with his impeachment proceedings on Monday.

Asked whether Justice Sen would appear before the Lower House, which has scheduled the debate on Monday, his lawyer Subhas Bhattacharya told PTI, "He has not yet decided whether to go or not because of a medical emergency in his family."

Bhattacharya also said no official communication has been received from the Lok Sabha about the schedule on Monday.

"Since the resignation letter, written and signed by Justice Sen, has been received by the office of the President, it is expected that the Parliament may not proceed further," Bhattacharya said.

The impeachment motion against Justice Sen was passed with an overwhelming majority by the Rajya Sabha on August 18.

The Lok Sabha has scheduled the motion on September 5 at 2:00 pm.

Justice Sen`s resignation to President Pratibha Patil on Thursday raised questions on the fate of the impeachment proceedings in the Lok Sabha. However, Attorney General G E Vahanvati is understood to have advised the government that it is too late to stop the process since it has already begun.

As per procedure, both Houses of Parliament have to pass the motion in the same session, after which the address is sent to the President for removal from office of a Supreme Court or High Court judge found guilty of misconduct.

53-year-old Sen was found guilty of misappropriating Rs 33.23 lakh under his custody as a court-appointed receiver in the capacity of a lawyer, and misrepresenting facts before a Calcutta court in a 1983 case.

scrollToTop