New Delhi, India: Protests erupted on Tuesday following the verdict of the in-house committee which gave Chief Justice of India (CJI) Ranjan Gogoi a clean chit over sexual harassment charges on Monday.
Raising questions over the clean chit given to CJI Ranjan Gogoi on Monday, protestors gather outside SC on Tuesday in solidarity of the woman complainant.
Chief Justice Ranjan Gogoi was cleared of sexual harassment charges by a panel of SC judges yesterday. A three-judge in-house Committee of the SC gave a clean chit to CJI.
A sexual harassment complaint was booked and levelled against Gogoi by a former court staffer.
A note from the court’s Secretary General yesterday said the Committee has “found no substance in the allegations”.
“Please take note that in case of Indira Jaising v. Supreme Court of India & Anr. (2003) 5 SCC 494, it has been held that the Report of a Committee constituted as a part of the In-House Procedure is not liable to be made public,” it read. A copy of the report has been sent to the “next senior Judge competent to receive the Report” and the Chief Justice of India.
The complainant expressed her disappointment with the panel’s decision. Another statement mentioned her disappointment and failure of the judicial system.
“Not providing a copy to the complainant while holding her complaint to be unfounded would be a violation of the principles of natural justice and a complete travesty of justice,” her statement read.
Activist Annie Raja told The Hindu, “Women have waged a struggle for very long and will continue to do so for their rights. The SC committee has violated all existing norms. We want a transparent enquiry. We want to protect the justice system. If the SC itself is violating norms, then there will be no value in the system left.”
Stay tuned for more updates!
