Edit: Why the delay over action on Ganguly?

The due process of law on the alleged misbehaviour of retired Supreme Court judge A.K. Ganguly towards a young woman law intern should have started long back.

By prevaricating and not acting swiftly and decisively on ensuring that the law takes its course regardless of the status of individuals, the government leaves itself open to the charge that it does not truly believe that all citizens are equal before the law. One immediate question that must be tackled is whether a legal luminary accused of using his privileged position to sexually harass a woman can still head a state human rights body.

The irony is that the former judge is sitting in judgment on human rights matters while being himself accused of breaching the rights of a young woman in a most embarrassing manner.

Justice Ganguly’s continuance in his high post is, of course, completely untenable, especially after public disclosure of the law intern’s affidavit before the court-appointed panel, but the matter goes way beyond his suitability to keep his post.

The crux: should he not be subject to a proper investigation as was initiated in the case of another high-profile personality recently accused of moral turpitude: Tehelka founder Tarun Tejpal. The people have a right to know why the process of law that played out in the Tejpal case — with the Goa police initiating suo motu action to talk to the aggrieved woman and record her statement in the proper judicial manner — is not being followed in the Ganguly case.

There is no suggestion yet that either man is guilty of what he is charged with, but double standards are evident in the way these two high-profile cases have been handled by the authorities.

There is nothing sacrosanct about a judge’s eminence that he cannot be held responsible for his actions in private, particularly when it is sexual harassment of a woman in a subordinate position, by virtue of the high offices held by him, now and earlier.

The suggestion that Justice Ganguly’s landmark rulings, in the 2G spectrum case and other matters, and his legal track record should be considered while determining what action to take in this matter is simply ridiculous.

What we now face in India is continuous harassment, and worse, of women. While laws against misbehaviour have become extremely stringent in the aftermath of the horrific New Delhi gangrape a year ago, it is important to ensure that those in high positions also face the same process of law as any other offender in such cases if we are to evolve into a more civilised society. The long arm of the law must reach Justice Ganguly, and his actions must be examined under a microscope.