Intern says judge put hand on her back, asked if she was comfortable staying in hotel.
Former SC judge Swatanter Kumar, against whom the allegations were levelled - File photo
New Delhi: An intern, who was reportedly sexually abused by a SC?sitting judge, has narrated the nature of harassment that took place in his office in May, 2011.
The judge allegedly behaved in a manner which was extremely sexual in nature.
“He put his hand on my lower back. He asked me if I was comfortable traveling and staying in hotels,” the complaint read. She felt uneasy and left the room.
On Friday, additional solicitor-general Indira Jaising, who had outed the details in the Justice A.K. Ganguly case, believes the name of the judge in the latest case can be revealed.
She told this newspaper that the complaint needs to be probed. “I feel an inquiry be set up by the Supreme Court and if there is prime facie evidence found against the apex court judge then his name can be revealed... I would say the court is duty-bound to investigate, since the woman was harassed by a sitting judge.”
In December last year, the SC had received an affidavit from a law graduate who claimed she had been sexually harassed while interning with a Supreme Court judge.
As per the affidavit, the incident occurred while the graduate was a student of the West Bengal National University of Juridical Sciences, Kolkata, and was interning with the Supreme Court. She had begun her internship in May 2011.
Disturbed by the incident, the intern quit her internship but did not file any complaint. She later filed a complaint with the SC along with an affidavit seeking action against him.
The court reportedly refused to go into the issue citing the December 5, 2013, full-court resolution in the Ganguly case making it clear that “representations made against former Judges of this Court are not entertainable by the administration of the Supreme Court.”
Sources confirmed the intern was told “she was at liberty to take appropriate remedy under the law.” She is contemplating filing a plea in the SC challenging the resolution passed by the full court.
( Source : dc )
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