Impeachment proceedings began on Wednesday against Calcutta High Court Judge Soumitra Sen with Communist Party of India-Marxist (CPI-M) MP Sitaram Yechury moving the motion against him in the Rajya Sabha.
Sen is the second judge in Indian history after Justice V. Ramaswami of the Supreme Court in May 1993 to face impeachment proceedings for unbecoming conduct.
In a powerful speech, Yechury said the motion was against an individual judge and not against the institution of the judiciary itself, which has been assigned a central position in the Indian constiution and is held in high esteem.
"A high judicial office is an office of trust. This motion has been moved to strengthen judiciary."
Justice Sen, who is in the Rajya Sabha, will get 90 minutes to defend the charges against him. Following his defence, the house will debate the motion and vote on it. If the motion is passed by two thirds of the members present and voting, it will go to the Lok Sabha within a week. After it is approved by both the houses of parliament, the motion goes to the president who will remove the judge from office.
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 around Rs.24 lakh in the 1990s when he was a lawyer and appointed receiver by the Calcutta High Court.