SC intern harassment
The Delhi high court adjourned its hearing in the Swatanter Kumar defamation case to 28 August, after the Supreme Court transfer petition was filed with the court in sealed cover.
The Delhi high court hearing former Supreme Court judge Swatanter Kumar's defamation case, would wait until the Supreme Court had decided on the transfer petition by an former law student intern who alleged she was sexually harassed by him.
A former intern, who had alleged that ex-Supreme Court judge Swatanter Kumar has sexually harassed her in 2011, has applied to the Supreme Court to transfer Kumar’s defamation case.
The advocate who has been banned from the Supreme Court premises for six months by the court’s new sexual harassment committee and the CJI, said he would seek a review of the order.
The Supreme Court sexual harassment committee has banned an advocate from the Supreme Court premises for six months for an incident of sexual harassment.
Now professor of law, social policy and women's studies in the US, Hill says despite her critics working to destroy her for accusing Thomas of sexual harassment and the ensuing senate hearings, she has survived and "created a vocabulary around sex harassment where none existed before", reports the NYT, in the month a documentary about her life will hit theatres.
"I can't even imagine a hearing today where a woman would come forth with an accusation of sexual harassment and it would be ignored," says a US lawmaker.
Here's hoping we can say the same in India less than 23 years from now. [NYT] [#InternJudge]
Fali Nariman and PP Rao have completed their recommendations to the Supreme Court in what procedure to follow in case of sex harassment allegations against sitting and former judges.
Bombay HC mandates cinemas to offer free online booking: Bombay HC asked the state government to issue a circular asking all movie theatres and multiplexes to set up their own websites for online booking of movie tickets without a convenience charge. A government resolution had already asked all theatres and multiplexes to do so, but they had outsourced it to websites like BookMyShow, which charge a convenience charge [PTI]
Lawyers soon to apply for ‘jailed interviews’ online: Delhi HC yesterday asked the city government to provide an online application facility for lawyers to get approval from jail authorities to interview their jailed clients. The court was hearing advocate Amit Sahni’s petition against the prison Director General’s 27 February order that restricted legal interviews with inmates to once in a week [PTI]
NUJS sexual harassment guidelines for interns ready: NUJS Kolkata’s draft guidelines on protection of interns from sexual harassment is reportedly ready and awaiting the nod of its executive council to finally come into force. The guidelines allow the submission of oral or written complaints by interns to the law school’s internal complaints committee, which will get 60 days to submit its report on the complaint [Indian Express]
Patna HC sacks 4th corrupt court officer: Patna HC in a full court meeting ordered compulsory retirement of a judicial officer against whom an allegation of taking a Rs 5 lakh bribe had been confirmed in an inquiry. The officer was originally to retire in 2019. This is the fourth case of stern action by the HC against its judicial officers this year. Earlier this year, Ajay Srivastava of Jehanabad was forcibly retired. Then three judicial officers were sacked for involvement in a sex scandal, and only a few days ago the SDJM of Sherghati in Gaya district, Ram Sajan was suspended for allegedly seeking sexual favours [TOI]
Delhi HC worried by shortage of public prosecutors: Delhi HC pulled up Delhi government over shortage of public prosecutors and non payment of fees to existing government lawyers, despite the large scale creation of new court buildings. The court was reportedly “surprised” that the government listed many restrictive conditions in its advertisements for public prosecutor posts, resulting in receiving very few applications [TOI]
Safety of IT women PIL: Asks for a law to regulate the safety of women working in the software and IT industries, filed by advocate KTS Sivakumar. Sivakumar asked for regulation of women employees’ working hours and “foolproof” security measures for those women who work night shifts [PTI]
NUJS Kolkata vice chancellor Ishwara Bhatt announced at the law school's convocation that its guidelines to protect of interns from sexual harassment would be published on its website soon, reported the Telegraph.
The report added that Bhatt promised that if an intern’s employer does not take action against a harasser on receiving a complaint of sexual harassment from the university, the university will “help the intern in a suitable way”.
The report stated that the policy follows sexual harassment allegations by former NUJS students against ex-Supreme Court Justice AK Ganguly, and "another Supreme Court judge", whose name the paper did not specify.
Newspapers reported in January that one of former Justice Swatanter Kumar's NUJS interns, while he was still a sitting judge, alleged that the judge sexually harassed her. Kumar has filed a defamation suit against several newspapers, which will next get heard on 19 May, obtaining a temporary and partial restriction on media reporting the allegations against him without also stating that they are mere allegations.
The next hearing will be on 19 May in the Delhi high court case filed by Swatanter Kumar against three media companies and an NUJS Kolkata graduate who alleged the former Supreme Court judge had sexually harrassed her while she interned with him, reported the PTI.
The Supreme Court's sexual harassment committee has explained how sexual harassment complaints against practising lawyers and court staff should be made in future.
The Supreme Court has adjourned its hearing in the public interest litigation (PIL) against Swatanter Kumar until 26 March, as two more interveners attempted to join the PIL.
Legally India has obtained a copy of the public interest litigation filed by anonymous lawyer X, a former intern of ex-Supreme Court judge Swatanter Kumar, whose case will again get heard by the Supreme Court tomorrow (14 February).
The chilling effect of the Delhi high court’s gag order it the Swatanter Kumar case is only the latest in a long line of examples of the media losing out in its fight to report on the judiciary, argues advocate Prashant Reddy.
For all intents and purposes, a lot of credit should go to Karanjawala & Co, for they have proven what difference a lawyer can make (or a team of six or more, judging by the number cc’d to my recent email correspondence with the firm).
The Supreme Court Gender Sensitisation and Internal Complaints Committee (GSICC) has received two complaints of sexual harassment since it was set up on 26 November 2013, reported the PTI, citing the GSICC Annual Report (PDF):
In the First Meeting of the GSICC held on 9/12/2013, an Internal Sub-Committee of three members was constituted in terms of Clause 9(1) of the said Regulations. The three members are Ms. Indu Malhotra, Senior Advocate, Mr. L. Nageshwar Rao, Senior Advocate and Ms. Bharti Ali, Co-Director, HAQ.
Two complaints received by the GSICC from aggrieved women lawyers have been submitted to the Internal Sub-Committee. The Internal Sub-Committee initiated the process of examining the two complaints. As far as the Complainant in GSICCNo. 1/2013 is concerned, her statement was video-recorded on 12.12.2013. The Complainant in GSICC No.2/2013 appeared on 16.12.2013 and the video-recording of her statement was deferred at her request. Both the complaints are pending disposal with the internal sub-committee.
While further details of the complaints were not disclosed, the committee does not have the power to investigate complaints against judges, which hit the headlines shortly before the committee was constituted.
AK Ganguly SC report private info: Rejecting a Right to Information (RTI) request for the Supreme Court’s report on its recent sexual harassment complaint proceedings against its former justice AK Ganguly, the SC said: “The disclosure of information and reports emanating out of a self-evolved mechanism which is in the nature of an In-House Procedure by the judiciary is expressly prohibited.” [PTI]
Verma J’s family declines Padma Bhushan: Refusing to accept the Padma Bhushan national honour on behalf of late justice JS Verma, his wife Pushpa Verma has written to the president stating that her husband “never hankered or lobbied for any acclaim, reward or favour” and that he “will be satisfied with being remembered as one of India’s most pre-eminent jurists […]”. Verma’s family was upset that they were not informed or “consulted” about the award through official communication but only came to know about it through media reports, and that they feel that the issue has been dealt with in a “bureaucratic manner” reported [IBN Live] Former Delhi high court chief justice Rajinder Sachar said that the ex-CJI at least deserved the higher honour of a Padma Vibhushan [Express]
RamJet set for BJP expulsion damages: The Delhi high court has fixed 2 May as the date for hearing veteran criminal lawyer Ram Jethmalani’s plea against expulsion from political party BJP on charges of “breach of discipline”. Jethmalani has asked the court for Rs 50 lakh in damages from the party’s parliamentary board members and a direction to the board to declare the order of his expulsion as "null and void" [IBN Live]
FDI U-turn vs national security: The Department of Industrial Policy and Promotion has revised its policy for 100 per cent foreign direct investment in Indian railways, after security concerns over Chinese firms prospectively setting up projects near the international border [Mint]
Suicide a crime or not?: The Mental Health Bill, approved yesterday by the cabinet, stands at odds with the Indian Penal Code which makes suicide a criminal offence. The bill decriminalises suicide [Scroll]
The Delhi high court’s order, restricting media coverage of the sexual harassment allegations against Swatanter Kumar, should give the Supreme Court cause to consider its Sahara gag order decision, argues Chinamyi Arun, research director at the Centre for Communication Governance at NLU Delhi and fellow at the CIS Bangalore.
The Delhi high court yesterday restrained anyone from publishing or broadcasting the detailed sexual harassment allegations against Swatanter Kumar, without stating prominently that they are “mere allegations”, as a battery of counsel appeared for the former Supreme Court judge in the court yesterday.