SC panel indicts Justice Ganguly, but lets him go; BJP, TMC demand his resignation

New Delhi: A Committee of three judges of the Supreme Court has indicted one of their retired colleagues Justice A.K. Ganguly for 'unwelcome behaviour' and 'conduct of sexual nature' towards a woman law intern, prompting demands that action under criminal law should be initiated against him.

West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee wrote to President Pranab Mukherjee asking him to take 'appropriate action' urgently against the 'grave misconduct' of former Supreme Court Judge.

Justice Ganguly, who retired from the apex court more than a year ago and currently heads the West Bengal Human Rights Commission, was accused by the intern of sexually harassing her in a hotel room in Delhi last year. He had strongly denied the charge.

Chief Justice of India P. Sathasivam had set up a committee consisting of justices R.M. Lodha, H.L. Dattu and Ranjana Prakash Desai to go into the intern's complaint, which she had made public through a blog. The committee had submitted its report a few days ago.

Making public the 'operative portion' of the report, the CJI said, "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."

He explained that since Justice was not a serving judge at the time of the incident which had occurred amidst outrage over the gang rape in the capital, no further follow up action was required by the Supreme Court.

However, demands for Justice Ganguly's resignation from the Human Rights Commission and initiation of criminal proceedings intensified soon after the statement of the CJI.

Leader of the Opposition Sushma Swaraj demanded his resignation immediately from the human rights commission in the wake of the Supreme Court committee that his behaviour was unwelcome.

"Today, I have already addressed a letter to the Hon'ble President of India for taking appropriate action urgently for the grave misconduct committed by Retd Justice A K Ganguly," Mamata Banerjee said in a Facebook post.

"Strong action is essential at this moment to enable people to repose trust and faith to the sanctity of the high office he holds," Banerjee said in the post. Various recommmendations of WBHRC have not gone down well with the state's ruling Trinamool Congress which demanded his resignation from the post.

"The girl intern complained against the retired Supreme Court judge Justice Ashok Kumar Ganguly. It established that the complaint of the girl was prima facie correct," TMC leader and party's Lok Sabha member Saugata Roy told PTI in Kolkata.

"Justice Ganguly should forthwith resign from his post as chairman of the WBHRC to save his own face and save the prestige of the high office which he holds," he said.

The legal community also joined the demand for filing of an FIR suo motu by the police in view of the 'savage indictment' by the committee in the words of senior lawyer Pinaki Mishra.

"I am pleased with what the committee has done. I do believe police must register an FIR immediately," Additional Solicitor General Indra Jaisingh said in her reaction.

Jaising said Justice Ganguly should follow the standards he set for others when he had described as 'shameful' the conduct of the late Maharashtra Chief Minister Vilasrao Deshmukh after a Supreme Court judgement in a land allotment case.

Senior advocate K.T.S. Tulsi, however, differed with those demanding suo motu filing of FIR by the police. "We don't know the full report. The girl is not under disability and if she does not support the prosecution, the police will look foolish."

Next: Justice Ganguly refuses to comment on SC panel indictment

Justice Ganguly refuses to comment on SC panel indictment

Kolkata: Former Supreme Court judge Justice Ashok Kumar Ganguly on Thursday refused to comment on his reported indictment by a three-judge Supreme Court panel in a complaint by a young woman law intern that he had allegedly sexually harassed her.

"I won't say anything," Ganguly told PTI when asked for his reaction on the indictment by a Supreme Court 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," Ganguly, Chairman of West Bengal Human Rights Commission (WBHRC), said.

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 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 in certain sections, including BJP leader Sushma Swaraj and some Trinamool Congress MPs, Ganguly had said "I have not decided. I am undecided. Time has not come to think about it."