Another judge has been accused of sexual harassment? What should be
done?
FORMER JUDGES OF THE SC:
The incident of Justice
A K Ganguly is still afresh in the minds of the people, yet another similar
kind of case has been surfaced. Another former Judge of the Supreme Court faces
allegations of unwelcome sexual behavior by a law intern.
The citizens of the
country have due respect to the two accused former judges of the Supreme Court for the performance of their duties during their term of office.
But, we also have more respect and regard for the women and a duty to protect
their integrity and express solidarity especially when it is endangered.
Form of Oath by the judges of the Supreme Court: (As mentioned in
the 3rd Schedule of the Indian Constitution)
“I, ……. having
been appointed Chief Justice (or a Judge) of the Supreme Court of India do
swear in the
name of God that I will bear true faith and allegiance to the Constitution of
India as by law established, that I will uphold the sovereignty and integrity of India,
that I will duly and faithfully and to the best of my ability, knowledge and
judgment perform the duties of my office without fear or favour, affection or
ill-will and that I will uphold the Constitution and
the laws.”
Note: Read again at the end of the paragraph
in the oath. (Green)
Difference between these two cases:
According to the allegation made against the Justice AK Ganguly he sexually
harassed a law intern after he demitted the office in the year 2012. In the latest
allegation against another former Judge he sexually assaulted the law intern
while he was a sitting Judge in the Supreme Court in the year 2012.
Why these cases are coming to the light after a long period? Generally when the allegations related to the
high profile people and made by the interns or subordinates there is a tendency
of fear. This is because of the position of the accused and they may spoil the
whole career of the sub ordinates.
The first law intern accumulated courage and expressed in a blog about
the alleged sexual harassment by the former judge. (Just Think… Is it not an act
of courage by the intern?) The CJI immediately constituted a 3 member committee
and the committee indicted Justice A K Ganguly. May be this acted as a factor of motivation on
the other woman and she also came out with a complaint. Since education and
awareness levels are increasing there is no point in tolerating such type of
activities and the women cannot be taken anymore as the weaker section of the
society.
WHAT SHOULD BE DONE? The fundamental principle under the Constitution is the Rule of Law. There
are no separate laws for the people with high profiles. Hence the immediate
requirement is to conduct an inquiry like in any other case. And since the
former judges took oath ‘to uphold the Constitution and the laws’ they know
better than anyone else that they must surrender for the investigation and
cooperate with the respective agencies. Otherwise the meaning of upholding the
law is diminished by the same persons who protected and defended the values of
the Constitution for many years.
Whenever there is an allegation the onus of proving innocence lies with
the accused. The only way is to surrender before the law and follow the
procedures. Otherwise entire system will be criticized for bias towards the people
with high profiles.
Why there is a demand for the resignation? It is a must because they should be
available to the investigating agency whenever they are asked to do so. It is
also their moral responsibility on their part not to sit in the statutory
positions after being accused. (Morality is not mentioned in the Constitution
and that is completely personal…..but a person holding higher ranks is expected
to respect the concept of morality). There may be a possibility of misusing
their office for protecting themselves. If they do not resign then the investigating
agency would be asked to come for the investigation only when the former judges
are free and available for investigation.
Note:
Justice A K Ganguly when he was a sitting Supreme Court Judge criticized the
late Vilas Rao Deshmukh for not resigning from the office as a Minister after
serious accusations. (Is this not applicable to him?) He resigned only after the Cabinet sent a
recommendation to the President to request for the inquiry by the Supreme
Court.
Another point of argument is that why did he resign after a prolonged
time? Why did he not face the procedures if he thinks that it is a conspiracy? It
can be understood that he was under pressure. But for his experience he could
have acted in a better manner.
The other accused judge must also face the law and people of the country
have every right to know the truth.
Are the judges’ victims of any conspiracy? This will also be clear only after the inquiry.
The truth must come out. As the former judges are saying that there is a conspiracy
against them. They should extend the complete cooperation to see that the truth
should surface. If they are found guilty then they must be punished as per the
law. This is an
opportunity for the nation to prove that nobody is above the law. If
it is found to be a conspiracy then the interns must be punished stringently
for spoiling the image of the former judges. This acts like a deterrent for
those who want to come out with such wrong accusations.
India has the courage to demand for justice. The former judges must
establish a precedent by bowing down before the law. In any case the Rule of
law must prevail and the guilty should be punished. Then only the essence of ‘Rule
of Law’ flies high in the largest Democracy of the World.
NOTE: On January 15, 2014 the Supreme Court
is going to hear petition of the law intern.