The inquiry into the alleged conspiracy in the sexual harassment charge against Chief Justice of India (CJI) Raanjan Gogoi will begin only after the in-house administrative inquiry into the woman’s allegations is concluded by three sitting judges, said former Supreme Court judge, Justice (retd) A K Patnaik, reported The Indian Express.
A three-judge bench, including Justice (retd) A K Patnaik, headed by Justice Arun Mishra is inquiring into the allegations of a conspiracy levelled by advocate Utsav Bains in his two affidavits.
A former woman employee of the Supreme Court had accused the Chief Justice of India (CJI), Ranjan Gogoi, of persecution after she resisted his alleged sexual advances on two occasions in October last year.
The 35-year-old woman, who is a mother of an eight-year-old girl, sought immediate protection from any “coercive action” by the Delhi police.
The court has directed the Directors of the CBI, the Intelligence Bureau (IB) and the Delhi Police Commissioner to cooperate with the bench. Senior advocate Indira Jaising, while speaking to reporters on Friday, said that the Chief Justice cannot be the master of the roster anymore and that his administrative and judicial work should be suspended until the sexual harassment allegations against him are looked into.
While ordering the inquiry to look into the conspiracy, the court had said that Bains would have to to disclose all documents. Earlier, Bains had claimed that he had sensitive information that could not be disclosed.
There has been strong criticism following the unprecedented hearing on Saturday when a three-judge bench, headed by CJI Gogoi himself, spoke to the complainant directly and criticised her allegations.
(With inputs from Indian Express)
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