CJI Accused of Sexual Harassment – What Played Out and What Next

From Justice Patnaik going for a probe to Justice Ramana recusing himself from the committee – here’s what happened.

Are the allegations of sexual harassment and intimidation against the Chief Justice of India part of some larger conspiracy, a conspiracy which poses a threat to the independence of India’s Judiciary?

(Photo: The Quint)

Are the allegations of sexual harassment and intimidation against the Chief Justice of India part of some larger conspiracy, a conspiracy which poses a threat to the independence of India’s Judiciary?

Well, that’s the question that has taken centre-stage at the Supreme Court for the last two days, culminating with the judges ordering a special probe into the claims of a ‘conspiracy’ on 25 April.

Today we’ll walk you through what happened in the Supreme Court and why it’s so important to India’s legal system.

The case in the Supreme court is a result of two developments. The first was CJI Ranjan Gogoi being accused of sexual harassment and intimidation by a former junior court assistant. The second, was an affidavit filed by lawyer Utsav Bains that there was a larger conspiracy at play to “frame CJI Ranjan Gogoi.”

So what happened and what should we expect next? Let’s dive in.

Well, the hearing on 25 April, was about Utsav Bains’ allegation that a conspiracy was at play to frame CJI Gogoi for sexual harassment. The woman who had accused the CJI of harassment, had filed a detailed affidavit on 20 April citing alleged instances of harassment by the CJI.

The same day, Bains claimed in a Facebook post that that he’d been approached to take up the case and even hold a press conference about it, and that he had been offered Rs 1.5 crore to do so.

He says he didn’t take up the case because he realised something was fishy about the whole business.

Bains also alleged that he’d spoken to several reliable sources and found out that this was a conspiracy by “a lobby of people including disgruntled judges, Supreme Court fixers, corporate scamsters and corrupt politicians.”

Cut to Monday, 22 April, and Bains filed an affidavit in the Supreme Court, making the same claims – except that now there was no mention of disgruntled judges as part of this conspiracy.

The apex court, meanwhile, split the matter into two strands of inquiry. The first, heard by a bench headed by Justice Arun Mishra, is looking into the threats to the independence of the judiciary – which they’ve basically taken to mean Bains’ claims.

The second inquiry is into the allegations of sexual harassment themselves, based on the woman’s complaint, which is being heard by a special three-member committee headed by Justice Bobde. The Justice Bobde panel will conduct its first hearing on 26 April – this will remain confidential.

Meanwhile, here’s what happened in Justice Arun Mishra’s court on 25 April.

First off, the three-judge bench which heard Bains’ conspiracy claims has refused to disclose the exact details of his allegations. They’ve asked the CBI, Delhi Police and IB to collect material backing it up, but refused to say anything further.

The only hint we have is that the conspiracy also involves former court officials Tapan Chakraborty and Manav Sharma who were sacked by CJI Gogoi for modifying a court order to wrongly say Anil Ambani didn’t need to make a personal appearance in a contempt matter.

But the bench HAS asked Bains to disclose ALL the information he has, and has refused his claim that some information can’t be disclosed because it’s protected by attorney-client privilege (as it were). The bench also highlighted the importance of this case by saying this: “the way this institution has been treated for the last 3-4 years, it will not survive.”

Justice Arun Mishra insisted that this threat of judgment fixing had to be dealt with: “The day has come for us to rise to the occasion and tell the rich and powerful that they can’t run the Supreme Court.”

Meanwhile, senior advocate Indira Jaising, who represents the woman accusing the CJI of sexual harassment, questioned Utsav Bains’ credentials. Jaising also asked that the investigation into the allegations of sexual harassment and allegations of a conspiracy against CJI Gogoi be done together, but the bench has refused that in no uncertain terms.

So, here’s what will happen next in these two cases.

First, Justice Arun Mishra’s court appointed former Supreme Court judge, Justice AK Patnaik, will probe Bains’ claims of a “larger conspiracy” to frame CJI Ranjan Gogoi in the sexual harassment case.

The Court has also ordered the chiefs of the CBI, the Intelligence Bureau (IB) and the Delhi Police to provide any assistance that Justice Patnaik requires in the probe.

Justice Patnaik will submit his report in a sealed cover to the Supreme Court, after which the next hearing will take place. No timeframe has been specified for the probe.

The second big development is of course the first meeting of the special committee inquiring into the complainant’s allegations against the chief justice. This is the number one thing to look out for tomorrow, though we have just been informed today that one of the judges who was part of that committee, Justice NV Ramana, has recused himself.

This may be because the complainant raised concerns about him being on the committee when confirming her appearance before it, pointing out that Justice Ramana is a friend of CJI Gogoi, and that he’d made comments during a speech on Saturday about attacks on judges.

Justice Bobde and Justice Indira Banerjee will remain on the committee, but it remains to be seen if the committee will conduct its first hearing on Friday, now that Justice Ramana will need to be replaced.