[dropcap]I[/dropcap]N an open letter to the judges of the Supreme Court of India, 259 women including lawyers, scholars, members of women’s groups and civil society have called for the constitution of a Special Enquiry Committee comprising “credible individuals” for a fair probe into the allegations of sexual harassment raised by a former Supreme Court employee against the Chief Justice of India (CJI), Justice Ranjan Gogoi.
The women also appealed for the probe to be completed within 90 days and asked that the CJI not perform any official duties until the enquiry is complete.
A three-member committee, comprising two senior-most judges of the Supreme Court, namely Justice S A Bobde and Justice N V Ramana, and one woman judge Justice Indira Banerjee, was formed to look into the allegations on Tuesday, April 20, 2019.
“The constitution of this committee with no external member is in complete violation of The Sexual Harassment of Women at Workplace (Prevention, Protection, and Redressal) Act, 2013.
“Media reports that this committee will start hearing on Friday and that it has no fixed time frame in which to finish the proceedings, will follow an in-house procedure and will not allow legal representation to either parties. While Ranjan Gogoi may not need legal representation, this is tilting the balance against the complainant, again violating the spirit of the Vishakha judgement and The Sexual Harassment of Women at Workplace (Prevention, Prohibition, and Redressal) Act 2013,” the grouping said in the letter.
The signatories to the letter have raised the following demands:
- A Special Enquiry Committee consisting of credible individuals be constituted to conduct a thorough enquiry at the earliest and create an atmosphere of transparency and confidence for the complainant to depose.
- The Special Enquiry Committee should follow the norms of the ICC and accordingly conduct its enquiry.
- The Chief Justice of India should refrain from transacting official duties and responsibilities until the completion of the enquiry.
- The Complainant should be allowed legal assistance from a lawyer of her choice.
- The enquiry should be completed within 90 days as stated in the law.
“While the allegations listed in the affidavit are shocking, equally worrisome was the response of the Chief Justice… He constituted a bench to hear his own case,” the signatories said.
Read the letter here:
[pdfviewer]https://cdn.theleaflet.in/wp-content/uploads/2019/04/25083223/Letter-by-2597.pdf[/pdfviewer]
