BackMamata Banerjee writes to President for urgent action against A.K. Ganguly
The SC panel hearing of the case said law intern's statement prima facie discloses unwelcome behaviour on the part of justice A.K. Ganguly
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New Delhi/Kolkata: West Bengal chief minister Mamata Banerjee on Thursday wrote to President Pranab Mukherjee seeking urgent and appropriate action against former Supreme Court judge A.K. Ganguly accused of sexually harassing a law intern.
Earlier in the day, a three-judge committee of the Supreme Court concluded that the statement of the law intern, who had complained against Justice A.K. Ganguly, prima facie discloses an “act of unwelcome behaviour" and “conduct of sexual nature" on the part of the retired judge.
The Supreme Court, however, made it clear that no further follow-up action is required by it in view of the fact that Ganguly had demitted office on the date of the incident—December 24 last year.
“We have carefully scrutinized the statement (written as well as oral) of (the intern), the affidavits of her three witnesses and the statement of Mr. Justice (Retd.) A.K. Ganguly. It appears to the Committee that in the evening on 24.12.2012, she had visited hotel Le Meridien where Mr. Justice (Retd.) A.K. Ganguly was staying to assist him in his work. This fact is not denied by Mr. Justice (Retd.) A.K. Ganguly in his statement."
“Further, the Committee is of the considered view that the statement of (the intern) both written and oral, prima facie discloses an act of unwelcome behaviour (unwelcome verbal/non-verbal conduct of sexual nature) by Mr. Justice (Retd.) A.K. Ganguly with her in the room in hotel Le Meridien on 24.12.2012 approximately between 8.00 P.M. and 10.30 P.M," said the operative portion from the report.
A two-page statement issued by Chief Justice P. Sathasivam disclosed the name of the intern but in keeping with the legal requirements and media policy followed in such cases, PTI is not mentioning her name in this news item.
Sathasivam said considering the fact that the said intern was not an intern on the roll of the Supreme Court and that the concerned Judge had already demitted office on account of superannuation on the date of the incident, no further follow up action is required by this court.
Ganguly, however, refused to comment on his reported indictment. “I won’t say anything," Ganguly told PTI when asked for his reaction on the indictment by an SC three-judge panel which said the law intern’s statement prima facie discloses “unwelcome behaviour".
“I don’t know what the Supreme Court has said. I won’t make any comment," said Ganguly, chairman of West Bengal Human Rights Commission (WBHRC).
Ganguly has all along denied the allegation made by the law intern that she was sexually harassed by him in his room in a five-star hotel in Delhi on Christmas Eve last year. “I have already denied the allegations. What more will I say?" Ganguly had told PTI on Wednesday evening. A general diary has been filed by an NGO before a city police station seeking legal action against Ganguly.
Amid clamour for his resignation as chairman of WBHRC, including BJP leader Sushma Swaraj and some Trinamool Congress MPs, Ganguly had said: “I have not decided. I’m undecided. Time has not come to think about it."
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