Judges, too, are not above the law

There are two ways to look at the decision of a three-member Rajya Sabha committee that pronounced justice Soumitra Sen of the Calcutta high court guilty of corruption and misbehaviour: that it will reinforce people’s faith in the higher judiciary; or that it is too late to make any difference.

If parliament takes note of the committee’s recommendations, it can opt to impeach the judge and remove him from service. Justice Sen will then have the dubious distinction of being the first higher court judge to be removed from office.

Way back in 1991, an impeachment motion brought against Supreme Court judge V Ramaswami failed at the last minute after the Congress asked its MPs to abstain, fearing a political fallout. One can only hope the same does not happen again.

Twenty years ago, corruption in the higher judiciary was not seen as a problem; today, people suspect it may not be uncommon. The Paul Dinakaran controversy points to the fact that the higher judiciary has things to hide. An impeachment of justice Sen will send a timely reminder to the brethren that they are not above the law.