Should Ex-SC judge Justice A K Ganguly resign from WB Human Rights panel?
Sushma Swaraj wants ex-SC Judge to quit; time has not come to think about it, says Ganguly.
New Delhi: There is a mixed reaction to whether former Supreme Court judge Justice AK Ganguly, who is facing allegations of sexually harassing a law intern, must resign as the chairman of the West Bengal Human Rights Commission.
The demand for resignation came from BJP leader Sushma Swaraj. Sushma has tweeted: "I strongly feel that Justice AK Ganguly should resign as Chairman of WB Human Rights Commission. Not only Caesar's wife but Caesar too must be above suspicion."
But former Attorney General of India Soli Sorabjee defended the retired apex court judge by saying his resignation would set a bad precedent.
Speaking to media, Ganguly said that the time has not come to think about resignation.
The intern, in a recent blog, had accused the retired judge of having sexually harassed her in a hotel room in December last year, when the nation was grappling with the horrific gangrape of a 23-year-old woman here.
A week ago, the Supreme Court-appointed three-judge panel in its report had said that the victim had identified the former Supreme Court judge as Justice A.K. Ganguly.
Denying the allegations, Justice Ganguly had expressed his shock. He had said: “I deny all charges. I am shocked and shattered. The intern was like a child to me. The intern has worked with me. She came to my house on a number of occasions in connection with work. She has never raised the issue with me. When I was in Delhi, she was in Delhi. I did not force her to come to me, she had dinner with me, she had the liberty to leave. She should have left if she felt uncomfortable.”
“I am not ashamed of anything. If this trend continues, it would be difficult for upright judges to work in the Supreme Court.”
He also said it was wrong to compare this case with that of Tehelka editor-in-chief Tarun Tejpal, who faces arrest for having molested a woman employee.
“I am denying everything. I have told the committee that all the allegations levelled by the intern are wrong. I don't know how such allegations have been levelled against me,” he was quoted as saying by a news agency.
Justice Ganguly was elevated to the Supreme Court on December 17, 2008, and he retired on February 3, 2012.