On Saturday, April 20, an affidavit was filed by a junior court assistant of the Supreme Court against the Chief Justice of India, Ranjan Gogoi, for alleged sexual harassment. In a special sitting of a three-judge bench, Justice Gogoi called this a “bigger plot” to “deactivate the office of the CJI”.

Rumours subsequently flew thick and fast on social media after the special sitting, but it’s important to check the facts of the case.

The complainant said she “rebuffed” Justice Gogoi’s advances in August 2018. According to her affidavit, she was dismissed from service on December 21, 2018. She alleged that her husband and brother-in-law—both head constables in the Delhi Police—were suspended on December 28, 2018, for a “criminal case involving a colony dispute dating back to 2012 that had been mutually resolved”.

Newslaundry spoke to the Delhi Police, the Mukundgarh Police, and other names mentioned in the affidavit filed by the complainant. Let’s look at this step-by-step.

1) On January 10, the affidavit says, the Station House Officer of Tilak Marg Police Station, Naresh Solanki, summoned the complainant’s husband saying their problems would be solved if the complainant apologised to the CJI. Solanki said he didn’t know why they had to apologise, the affidavit said. On January 11, Solanki allegedly summoned the couple to the police station and after coordination with Deepak Jain, Registrar of the Supreme Court, Solanki changed into plainclothes and took the couple to the CJI’s house along with Jain.

They traveled in a white Maruti Swift with the licence plate number HR10-W-4654. Newslaundry discovered this private vehicle belongs to someone called Mahendar Singh Chikkara.

Newslaundry telephoned Naresh Solanki, who is currently posted as Station House Officer of Neb Sarai Police Station. When this reporter asked him about his role in taking the complainant and her husband to the CJI’s house, he disconnected the call and continued to do so whenever Newslaundry tried to contact him.

2) According to the affidavit, on January 9, the complainant’s husband was transferred from 3rd Bn DAP to 2nd Bn DAP so joint departmental enquiries could be carried out against him and his brother.

The husband received an order from Deputy Commissioner of Police of 3rd Bn Vikas Puri, DKS Singh, and Additional DCP of 2nd Bn, DAP, Delhi, Kamla Devi Meena, stating he had ties with gamblers. It allegedly also said the husband and his brother had approached the SHO of Tilak Nagar Police Station and Constable Amar Singh, asking to allow the satta (gambling) activities of a local gambler named Hanumanta Ram.

When Newslaundry contacted Constable Amar Singh of Tilak Nagar Police Station, he said, “They have never approached me with a request to turn a blind eye on or allow the activities of any criminal or gambler.”

Newslaundry contacted Additional DCP Kamla Devi Meena who disconnected the call when asked about the orders issued by her about the departmental inquiry against the complainant’s husband.

When Newslaundry questioned DCP DKS Singh, he said, “I don’t want to make any comments.”

3. On March 8, 2019, the affidavit said, the complainant and her husband were at the husband’s ancestral home in Togra Kalan village in Rajasthan. Then, it alleges, a police team from Tilak Marg Police Station arrived to arrest her. The complainant and her husband were allegedly first taken to Mukundgarh Police Station in Jhunjhunu and then to Tilak Marg Police Station.

The arrest was allegedly on the basis of an FIR filed by Naveen Kumar—a resident of Jhajjar in Haryana—on March 3, 2019, at Tilak Marg Police Station. The FIR said the complainant had duped him of ₹50,000 on the pretext of providing him with a job in Group ‘D’ post in the Supreme Court.

While talking to Newslaundry, police officials of Mukundgarh Police Station said the Tilak Nagar police team headed by Police Inspector Parmendra Singh Rawat came to them seeking assistance in order to make an arrest in a case of cheating.

Ramswarup, police sub-inspector of Mukundgarh Police Station told Newslaundry: “A police inspector, Parmendra Singh Rawat, came here along with some more officials of the Delhi Police. They came with a FIR of cheating [filed] at Tilak Marg Police Station. In order to assist them, we sent two constables and a driver with them. We don’t know more than that.”

Dayaram Bakoliya, a constable of Mukundgarh Police Station, went along with the team to the complainant’s husband’s house. He said: “The Delhi Police informed us that there is a fraudster and they want to raid the house in order to make the arrest . They asked us to go back after reaching Togra and then stayed in the village that night. They told us they will search for them [the couple] in the morning and will return the next day. The next morning, they came with the couple and then left for Delhi.”

Newslaundry contacted Parmendra Singh Rawat to ask him about the case against the complainant. He first asked if his name is in her affidavit. Then he said: “I don’t know anything about the cheating case, I was not the investigating officer.”

4. In her affidavit, the complainant said on March 9, 2019, she returned to Delhi with her husband in her brother-in-law’s car. After reaching Delhi, she went to Tilak Marg Police Station where she and her husband were allegedly told about the details of the FIR that said she had duped someone of ₹50,000. Feeling unwell, the complainant was allowed to leave the police station and meet a doctor, the affidavit states. She went to Deen Dayal Upadhyay Hospital with her sister-in-law.

On the intervening night of March 9-10, the complainant’s sister-in-law, who was at the hospital, received a call from the complainant’s mother-in-law who urged them to immediately come to their home. When the complainant reached her home, she saw the SHO of Tilak Marg Police Station, Devender Kumar, with her husband who was handcuffed, the affidavit says.

The complainant, her sister-in-law and her husband were then allegedly forcefully taken to Tilak Marg Police Station through a gate which is usually locked and allegedly has no CCTV cameras. The complainant said her feet were handcuffed to a bench. She was also kicked by the SHO, the affidavit says.

On the morning of March 10, she was allegedly brought inside the police station using the gate where CCTV cameras were installed.

Newslaundry questioned SHO Devender Kumar about the allegations against him. He said: “All the allegations against me are false. They just wanted attention which they got now. We have done everything as per the criminal procedure code. We registered the complaint and now the case is with the Crime Branch. After the arrest and bail procedure, the case has been transferred to the Crime branch.”

Newslaundry asked if investigation was done before the complainant was arrested on the basis of the FIR. Devender Kumar said: “The investigation is in the preliminary stage, it’s a pending investigation. But we will let you know later.”

Newslaundry tried to contact Naveen Kumar who had allegedly filed the FIR against the complainant. His phone was switched off.