‘They want to deactivate the office of CJI’: a special sitting of the Supreme Court is underway

A special sitting of a three-judge bench is underway at the Supreme Court of India. The three-judge bench comprises Chief Justice of India Ranjan Gogoi and Justices Arun Mishra and Sanjiv Khanna. The special sitting took place after the Caravan magazine and Scroll.in reported on the allegations of sexual harassment made against the Chief Justice. The Leaflet has also published the sequence of events leading up to the present sexual harassment complaint.

According to the reports, a 35-year-old woman, a former staffer at the Supreme Court of India, has accused the Chief Justice of India, Ranjan Gogoi, of sexual harassment. The woman had sent an affidavit detailing her experience to 22 SC judges on Friday, April 19,

Addressing the special sitting, the Chief Justice said: “Last evening I received four communications from Wire, Leaflet, Caravan and Scroll, saying a letter has been circulated by a dismissed SC employee alleging that CJI has sought sexual favours. Saying her family has been threatened, criminal cases against them. Secretary-General has replied to them. All I would like to say is this, undoubtedly every employee is treated fairly and decently. This employee was there for a month and a half. Allegations came and I didn’t deem it appropriate to reply to the allegations. This lady has a criminal background. There are two FIRs against her…”

The CJI added: “After 20 years or selfless service. It is unbelievable …With a bank balance of 6,80,000 that is in my bank account. This is my total asset. When I started as a judge, I had much hope. On the verge of retirement, I have 6 lakhs. I don’t think that this can be of a plot of a junior assistant. There is a bigger plot. They want to deactivate the office of the CJI. This is the reward CJI gets after 20 years, a bank balance of 680,000. This I thought should be told from the highest seat of the judiciary. Independence of judiciary is under very very serious threat. If the judges have to work under these conditions, good people will never come to this office.”

Gogoi was also quoted as saying: “The issue, my brothers will consider. Not me. The senior most judges will consider this issue.”

The three-judge bench said: We are not passing any judicial order but leaving it to media to act responsibly to ensure that independence of judiciary it protected. The three-judge bench has said that an appropriate Bench will hear the sexual harassment allegations against Gogoi.

In response to the media organisations, the Secretary-General of the SC had denied the allegations. They are completely and absolutely false and scurrilous, the Secretary-General had said.