Justice Soumitra Sen resigns five days before impeachment motion

KOLKATA: Justice Soumitra Sen of the Calcutta High Court resigned today, five days before his impeachment motion was to taken up in the Lok Sabha.

"I have put in my papers today," Justice Sen, against whom the Rajya Sabha has approved an impeachment motion, told PTI here.

"I have decided not to go to the Lok Sabha and instead put in my papers," Sen, who was to have appeared before the Lok Sabha on September 5, said.

"I have sent my resignation to President Pratibha Patil and a copy of it to the Lok Sabha Speaker," he said.

In his letter to the President, Justice Sen has said that since Rajya Sabha has decided in its wisdom that he should not continue as a judge, he is resigning and wants to live as a common citizen, his lawyer Subhash Bhattacharya said.

The Rajya Sabha had on August 18 overwhelmingly approved the impeachment motion against Justice Sen.

Justice Sen was held guilty of misappropriating Rs. 33.23 lakh in a 1983 case.