Tribune News Service
New Delhi, May 7
A day after an in-house inquiry panel gave a clean chit to Chief Justice of India Ranjan Gogoi rejecting allegations of sexual harassment against him, the complainant demanded a copy of the report and women activists and lawyers held protests outside the court.
“I have a right to the report, the reasons for the same as well as copies of the depositions of any witnesses, any other persons or any other evidence considered,” said the dismissed woman employee of the Supreme Court in a letter to Justice SA Bobde, who headed the three-member committee.
The report has since been submitted to Justice Arun Mishra — number four in seniority. Incidentally, Justice Mishra is also heading a three-judge Bench which had requested retired Justice AK Patnaik to probe allegations of a larger conspiracy to frame CJI Gogoi in a sexual harassment case.
The complainant’s latest salvo came on a day when several women lawyers and activists protested outside the Supreme Court against the clean chit to CJI Gogoi.
Many of them were detained by Delhi Police, which had issued prohibitory orders in the area.
The in-house inquiry panel had on Monday given a clean chit to the CJI as it found “no substance” in the allegations of the dismissed woman employee. Citing a top court verdict, it had also said the report was not “liable to be made public”.
However, the woman said if the CJI was being given a copy of the report, directly or indirectly, she was also entitled to it. “I find it rather strange that the complainant in a case of sexual harassment is not to be provided with a copy of the report, which finds her complaint to be without substance and that my complaint has been held by the committee to be this without giving me any reasons for the same,” she said. Both the parties had the right to receive a copy of the report, she asserted.
She said lack of transparency in the functioning of the panel “would be a violation of the principles of natural justice”. Bar Council of India chairman Manan Mishra, however, backed the in-house inquiry panel, saying there was nothing wrong about the procedure and there should be an end to “this unfounded controversy”.
Mishra said, “We should not doubt the decision of our three judges of the committee. Otherwise, it will send a very wrong signal and there shall be no end to such malicious complaints against responsible authorities/persons discharging important functions.”
from The Tribune http://bit.ly/2LtFOYo
via Today’s News Headlines
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