New Delhi, July 18
Calcutta High Court Judge Soumitra Sen, who is facing removal through impeachment in Parliament, misused court funds even for his credit card payments when he was a court receiver in a case prior to his appointment as a Judge of the HC in December 2003, the Rajya Sabha inquiry committee headed by Supreme Court Judge B Sudershan Reddy was informed on Sunday.

Justice Sen had misappropriated about Rs 33 lakhs, as if it was his own money, for making personal investments and meeting his expenses, senior advocate Siddharth Luthra argued before the panel, which included Punjab and Haryana High Court Chief Justice Mukul Mudgal and noted jurist Fali S Nariman.

As a court receiver, Justice Sen was required to submit accounts to the HC every six months (in January and July) for the funds he received as court receiver, but he did not do it even once until his appointment as the HC Judge, the counsel for the panel said. The inquiry committee began hearing the arguments on the charges today.

Just the fact that he was now a Judge did not absolve him of the responsibility to account for the funds he had received prior to his elevation, the counsel argued. Justice Sen, who had since returned the money, was now seeking to defend himself stating that it was an “error of judgment” on his part, but the court receiver was not entitled to this excuse, Luthra contended.Justice Sen was guilty of both misappropriation of funds and misrepresentation of facts, the counsel maintained. The panel heard the arguments from 10 am to 7 pm. It would hear the contentions of Justice Sen tomorrow.

Rajya Sabha Chairman Hamid Ansari has initiated impeachment proceedings on a notice of motion moved by 58 members. On August 4, 2008, the then Chief Justice of India KG Balakrishnan had written to the PM suggesting Justice Sen’s impeachment as he had refused to quit.