My right to get report, says woman who complained against Chief Justice Ranjan Gogoi
New Delhi, May 7: The former woman employee of the Supreme Court who levelled sexual harassment allegations against Chief Justice Ranjan Gogoi, on Tuesday sought a copy of the report of the In-House Inquiry Committee which gave clean chit to the CJI.
The CJI Monday got a clean chit from a three-member Inquiry Committee headed by Justice S A Bobde which found "no substance" in the allegations of the former woman employee and further ruled that the report was not "liable to be made public".
The 3-member Committee, which completed its task in 14 days, proceeded ex-parte as the woman had opted out of the inquiry on April 30 after participating for three days.
In a letter to Justice Bobde, the woman has alleged lack of transparency in the functioning of the inquiry panel and said that now, not providing her a copy of the order "would be a violation of the principles of natural justice and a complete travesty of justice".
She alleged that in the first hearing, she was not given any clarity on whether the present proceedings were the in-house.
"However, the in-house proceeding rules are now being used to deny me and the public a right to the report. The Secretary General's press note states that a copy of the report will not be made public... It appears from the press release that even I, the complainant, will not be provided with a copy of the report.
"I have a right to the report, the reasons for the same as well as copies of the depositions of any witnesses, any other persons or any other evidence considered by the Committee," she said.
The statement further said that if the CJI was being given a copy of the report, directly or indirectly, the complainant was also entitled to it.
"I find it rather strange that the complainant in a case of sexual harassment is not to be provided with a copy of the report which finds her complaint to be without substance and that my complaint has been held by the committee to be this without giving me any reasons for the same," she said, adding that both the parties had a right to receive a copy of the report.
"I am shocked that despite my detailed affidavit, ample corroborative evidence and clear, consistent statement before the Committee reiterating my experience of sexual harassment and consequent victimisation the Committee has found 'no substance' in my complaint and affidavit.
"I am shocked that Committee has come to an adverse finding against me despite the fact that I was compelled to withdraw from the Committee since the committee did not observe even the most basic principles of natural justice," she said in a statement.
She alleged that from the beginning she was treated as an outsider and was not informed of the procedure and her basic rights and obligations with regard to the inquiry proceedings.
The complainant further alleged lack of transparency in the functioning of the Committee and said a great prejudice was being caused to her repeatedly.
Regarding the judgement cited by the apex court committee while refusing to provide her a copy of the order, she said it was given at a time prior to the Right to Information Act.
"Even according to the full bench judgment of the Delhi High court in the Assets disclosure case, such a report should be accessible to any citizen under the RTI. The full bench had held that even assets of judges would be accessible under RTI to any citizen.
"In these circumstances I request you to kindly provide me with a copy of the report since I have a right to know how, why and on what basis have your Lordships found my complaint to have 'no substance'," the statement said.
The In-House Committee, also comprising two woman judges of the apex court Justices Indu Malhotra and Indira Banerjee had on May 1 recorded the statement of the CJI who had appeared before it.
The Committee submitted its report to Justice Arun Mishra -- number four in seniority.
After the CJI, constituted on April 23, Justice Bobde is the next senior most judge, followed by Justices N V Ramana, Arun Mishra and R F Nariman.
The allegations against the CJI had become public on April 20 when some news web portals had come out with the stories.
The woman had sent her affidavit to 22 judges of the apex court about the alleged sexual harassment.
Within hours of the allegations coming into public domain, an unprecedented hearing by a bench comprising CJI and Justices Mishra and Sanjiv Khanna had taken place on April 20 which was Saturday.
Let the Truth be known. If you read VB and like VB, please be a VB Supporter and Help us deliver the Truth to one and all.
Delhi: Father, son held for killing 19-year-old woman in suspected honour killing
New Delhi (PTI): The Delhi Police has arrested a man and his son for allegedly murdering his 19-year-old daughter in west Delhi's Hari Nagar area, an official said on Friday.
The case first came to light on April 1 after a PCR call was received around 2 pm, alleging that a woman had been killed by her family members and her body was being taken for last rites, he said.
The accused, identified as Mohammad Maneer (55), a vegetable vendor, and his son Meraj Ali (19), were arrested in connection with the case, the officer said.
The victim had been in a relationship with a man from her native place for the past two years, which was opposed by her father, Maneer and brother Meraj, he said.
"When the girl did not end the relationship despite objections, the family killed her," the officer said.
On April 1, the police said that when their team reached the spot, they found that the woman's body was being taken for burial.
Acting on the input, the burial process was stopped over suspicion of honour killing.
"Police intercepted the family members and took possession of the body," he said.
Police said that the man who had made the PCR told them that the woman was in love with his cousin.
During the inquiry, police also interacted with the PCR caller, who said his cousin, a friend of the deceased, had informed him about the situation and suspected foul play, prompting him to alert the police control room.
The body of the woman was subsequently shifted to the mortuary of Deen Dayal Upadhyay Hospital for preservation and postmortem.
Police said that both the crime team and the forensic science laboratory (FSL) team were called to inspect the scene and collect evidence.
Police said that, as per the postmortem report, the cause of death was identified as smothering, indicating that the woman was suffocated.
A preliminary inquiry also revealed that the family had initiated preparations for the last rites soon after the woman's death, raising suspicion about the circumstances.
Initial investigation pointed to the family's opposition to the woman's relationship.
"The family members of the woman saw her with the man, and she was taken back home. We got to know that she was beaten up and even locked inside the house for some days," a source said.
Further investigation into the matter is underway, police added.
