Allegations against CJI: Ex-employee appears before in-house inquiry panel
New Delhi: A former apex court employee, who levelled allegations of sexual harassment against Chief Justice of India Ranjan Gogoi, appeared on Friday before the in-house inquiry panel which is dealing with her complaint.
The three-member panel, headed by Justice S A Bobde, conducted its first in-chamber sitting during which the woman and the secretary general of the apex court appeared before it, an official source said.
The source said the secretary general was present before the panel, also comprising two women judges Indu Malhotra and Indira Banerjee with all documents and materials.
During the hearing, only the woman was present and the secretary general was not privy to the proceedings, the source said.
The advocate who had accompanied the woman to the apex court was also not part of the proceedings, the source said, adding that next date of the hearing would be fixed by the panel shortly.
On April 23, Justice Bobde had told PTI that the in-house procedure did not contemplate representation of advocates on behalf of parties as it was not a formal judicial proceedings.
"This is going to be an in-house procedure which does not contemplate representation of advocate on behalf of parties. It is not a formal judicial proceeding," he said.
He had clarified that there was no time frame to complete the inquiry and the future course of action will depend on "what comes out of the inquiry" which will be "confidential".
Justice Indu Malhotra was Thursday appointed a new member of the committee after Justice N V Ramana recused himself.
The development followed the complainant's letter to the panel on Wednesday, expressing reservation over the inclusion of Justice Ramana on the ground that he is a close friend of the CJI and a regular visitor to his house.
In the letter, she had also raised question over the presence of only one woman apex court judge Indira Banerjee in the panel set up to examine her allegations against the CJI. According to her, it was not in accordance with the Vishaka Guidelines.
Justice Ramana, while recusing himself, had termed as "baseless and unfounded" the "aspersions" cast by the woman on him.
He said he recused only to "avoid any suspicion that this institution will not conduct itself in keeping with the highest standards of judicial propriety and wisdom".
The woman's allegations against the CJI were brought into the public domain by some news web portals on April 20.
She had worked at Justice Gogoi's home office in Delhi and the allegations were carried by the news portals based on her affidavit which was sent to 22 judges of the top court.
In her affidavit, the woman described two incidents of alleged harassment, days after Justice Gogoi was appointed CJI last October and her subsequent persecution.
The woman alleged that she was removed from service after she rebuffed his "sexual advances". She claimed that her husband and brother-in-law, both of whom were head constables, were suspended for a 2012 criminal case that had been mutually resolved.
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CM Siddaramaiah alleges ‘criminal conspiracy’ in Sringeri recount, vows legal action
Bengaluru (PTI): Alleging a “criminal conspiracy” by BJP candidate D N Jeevaraj in the Sringeri Assembly poll recounting, Karnataka CM Siddaramaiah on Tuesday said the outcome was manipulated after valid postal ballot votes in favour of Congress leader T D Raje Gowda were tampered with during the recounting process.
Following a Karnataka High Court order on an election petition filed by Jeevaraj, challenging Raje Gowda’s election, the reverification and recounting were conducted on Saturday.
After the reverification and recount of postal ballots for the Sringeri Assembly constituency, votes polled in favour of Raje Gowda were reduced by 255, the returning officer said.
A report on the matter has been submitted to the Election Commission of India for further action, the officer added.
Congress leader Raje Gowda had won the 2023 Assembly polls from Sringeri by 201 votes, defeating his nearest rival Jeevaraj.
Addressing a press conference in Bengaluru, Siddaramaiah said the High Court had directed the recounting of postal ballots and that irregularities were noticed during the exercise conducted on May 2.
“This is a clear case of criminal conspiracy,” Siddaramaiah said, alleging that valid votes cast in favour of Raje Gowda were altered after being accepted by counting agents of all parties, including Congress, BJP, and JD(S).
He claimed that during the recounting of postal ballots, 255 votes were initially accepted as valid by all agents but were later tampered with by subordinate officials.
“There is a second mark on the votes polled in favour of Raje Gowda. They had accepted these as valid votes. Subsequently, another mark was made by officials. This is a clear case of criminal conspiracy,” he said.
When asked who was behind the alleged conspiracy, the CM replied, “It was hatched by Jeevaraj and others. It is planned.”
Siddaramaiah further alleged that the returning officer acted improperly by declaring the result despite the presence of an Election Commission observer during the recounting.
“Immediately after the counting, the returning officer announced the result. He should not have done so; this is against the law,” he said.
He pointed out that Raje Gowda had originally won by 201 votes, but after the recounting, the BJP candidate was declared the winner by 52 votes.
“The BJP has committed a criminal act of conspiracy. This is not vote chori but vote dacoity,” he alleged.
The CM said a police complaint had already been filed by Raje Gowda’s election agent, Sudhir Kumar, and emphasised the need for electoral integrity.
“We want transparency and free and fair elections. That is what our Constitution mandates,” he added.
Stating that the government would pursue legal remedies, Siddaramaiah said, “We are preparing an appeal challenging the returning officer’s announcement in a court of law.”
Responding to a separate query on elections in other states, the CM said there appeared to be an anti-incumbency factor in West Bengal, while results in Tamil Nadu were “surprising,” adding that Vijay’s party was emerging as the largest there.
Following the victory of party candidates in Bagalkote and Davanagere South, Siddaramaiah expressed confidence about future electoral prospects in Karnataka.
“Even in 2028, we will win the Assembly elections. We will come back,” the CM said.
Siddaramaiah added that he would order a forensic examination into the alleged tampering of postal ballots.
