As former Justice AK Ganguly wrote an 8-page letter to the Chief Justice of India (CJI) earlier today questioning the charges against him and implying a political conspiracy, the intern (“SJ”) who alleged she was sexually harassed by him after his retirement, has made a public statement of her own questioning his claims and restating her faith in the Supreme Court’s inquiry.
The intern, who was a research associate with Ganguly as the West Bengal Human Rights Commission (WBHRC) chairman in December 2012, when the alleged incident took place, today wrote on the blog of the Journal of Indian Law and Society, which first carried her a blog post with her allegation:
It has been widely reported in the news today that former Justice A.K. Ganguly has written a letter to the Hon’ble Chief Justice of India. Several questions have been raised in the past few weeks, and I think it is appropriate at this stage, for me to answer some of them:
1. Timing and Intent of the Blog
After the incident, when I returned to college, NUJS Kolkata, I spoke to some of my faculty about the incident at different times. Since the incident occurred during an internship, and the University did not have a policy against sexual harassment of women students during internship, it was indicated to me that any action would be ineffective. I was also informed that the only route for me was to file a complaint with the police, which I was reluctant to do. However, I felt it was important to warn young law students that status and position should not be confused for standards of morality and ethics. Hence I chose to do so via a blog post.
2. Deposing Before the three-member Committee
I did not question the jurisdiction or intent of the Hon’ble Three-member Judges’ Committee at any point, and had full faith that they would establish the truth of my statements. I sought confidentiality of proceedings keeping in mind the gravity of the situation, as well as the privacy of everyone involved.
The Committee acted with great discretion given the delicate nature of the case, and I appreciate that. The prima facie finding of three-Judge committee is well known to all.
3. Putting the details of my statement in public domain
Please find below the following timeline for clarity:
18th November 2013 – I appeared in person before the Hon’ble three-Judge Committee, and gave oral statement before the Committee. I also submitted written statement to the Committee, signed by me before them in person.
29th November 2013 – I sent an affidavit, signed and sworn on the same day, to Ms Indira Jaising, Additional Solicitor General of India, disclosing to her the details of my sexual harassment, and requested her to seek appropriate action. The contents of the affidavit are substantially the same as the statements made by me before the Committee.
Even after the operative portion of the report of the Committee, was made public, many eminent citizens and legal luminaries continued to deride the Committee’s findings, and malign me. Hence, I found it necessary to clarify the details of my statement to preserve my own dignity as well as that of the Supreme Court. Therefore, I authorized Ms Indira Jaising, the Additional Solicitor General of India to make my statement public.
At this stage, I believe that anyone claiming that my statements are false is showing disrespect not just to me, but also to the Supreme Court of India.
4. Police Complaint
I request that it be acknowledged that I have the discernment to pursue appropriate proceedings at appropriate times. I ask that my autonomy be respected fully.
Again, I would like to state that I have acted with utmost responsibility throughout, keeping in mind the seriousness of this situation. Those who have been spreading rumours and politicizing the issue, are doing so out of prejudice and malice to obfuscate the issue and escape scrutiny and accountability.
Earlier today Ganguly had written a letter to CJI P Sathasivam, again denying that he never neither “harrassed nor … make any unwelcome advances to any female intern”. He also suggested that there was a “palpable design” to malign him, because he had rendered judgments against “powerful quarters”, reported the PTI and others.
Read more on possible next legal steps in the #InternJudge story
Full copy of Ganguly Letter to CJI, via NDTV
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Have you stopped reporting deals..
What if Judge-Intern issues had not come up..
Your columns would have looked empty...
Please focus on the Bar too (knew you have reported (very) few deal)..Quoting Guest:
Quoting Guest:
Best wishes
Kian
Is this the way a responsible journalist speak?
or you should be a responsible lawyer and dunk into diligence documents over christmas and new years. Im sure your partner and clients will appreciate.
Nevertheless, we've just published a deals round-up of 13 deals we had missed reporting in the past few weeks:
www.legallyindia.com/Deals-in-brief/13-christmas-2013-deals-in-brief
Happy holidays and best wishes,
Kian
Best wishes,
Kian
But LI has all the time in the World to exhaustively cover Intern-Judge. What a poor excuse by Kian..
Your main objective to warn fellow students has been achieved.
Regards
We understand your concern. But I think the man also deserve a chance to defend himself.
Please file complaint and let this proceed or just drop it if you are not upto it. Don't drag it through media. Not doing anyone any favors. Yourself are well informed.
I really hope you make the complaint.
SJ neatly sums up exactly what she has got wrong. She has not pursued any legal remedy but rather created a media fury. And that is not at all worthy of respect.
A lawyer afraid to put her complaint formally to authorities and her trust in the system of which she is a sworn officer (if she is indeed a licensed advocate, which is unclear) is neither brave nor competent. Time will tell whether she is a wronged intern, naïve but well intentioned, or a pawn.
And while SJ's claims certainly may be emblematic of a patriarchal system that exploits and demeans women, they tell us very little of the truth of what this particular man did or did not do to this particular woman at that particular time. And it is on such evidence that we deprive people of their good name or freedom in the larger interests of society.
Those holding pitchforks and torches should realize that the mob will come for them one day too.
"Those holding pitchforks and torches should realize that the mob will come for them one day too."
Brilliant !
Mr. A.K. Ganguly is belatedly defending himself with absurd defenses. Why he was not prompt enough to re-act sharply before the Three Judge Committee of Supreme court Lordships not explained by him.
Time has come for the Complainant to file her official Complaint to Police to bury all false defenses.
kindly suggest the victim to file a Police Complaint. Our Indian Police knows how to extract truth and how to put up the evidence before the Court in the form of Charge -Sheet.Let Mr. A. K. ganguly put his defences in his 313 Cr.P.C. Statement and prior- he will get full opportunity to Cross-Examine the Witnesses and the Victim. When - all High value Accused in India- had faith in Indian Judiciary, Mr. Ganguly should suggest the victim to file the Police Complaint against him and then let him prove ' Not Guilty". Remember, he will also get advantage of " benefit of doubts" in additions to his solid defences if he has any one as narrated by him his eight page letter.From : Vijaymvaghela adv.
The authority may be flowing from the fact that he is holding the post of Chairman, WB Human Rights Commission.
You think I don't know what post he holds? When WB Human Rights Commission itself does not use the national emblem, how can Ganguly use the same? The Commission's web site is here:
www.wbhrc.nic.in/
This guy's fighting for his professional reputation and is represented by a well-known litigator, yet the letter is filled with clumsy English and juvenile errors (check out xxxii, for instance, and the charming use of the royal third person at xxxv).
AKG may or may not have harassed SJ, but his drafting certainly brings shame on the Honourable Court. It doesn't say much good about his advisors either, if they had anything to do with this letter. This is crap work all around. Dilip D'Souza also has a nice evisceration of poor writing at the Supreme Court in today's India Ink in the New York Times.
Please provide the link. Thanks!
These faculty members must now speak out and state whether this is true. Otherwise the girl's honour and reputation will be under severe attack. I request LI to confirm this.
what you said is true. she should do that now.
I would request the media either to stop publishing these daily or ask all concerned parties to come forward with all their papers & proofs and through proper formal channels (police, FIR etc). Instead social media has been used to make some attracts & counter-attracts. As the whole story has only one place -- i.e. Delhi -- giving a chance, the Delhi police can be asked for their investigation.
We all know through cyber-war no legal battle can be fought. It is based on papers & evidence and evidence can only be forwarded to the legal system for judging if there's a crime or not -- who is victim & who is culprit.
Surprisingly, no body cares to go for a proper legal step. WHY?
If there's any proof/evidence/legal documents, please let the nation (& of course, the court) know. Else, please stop blogging.
Hear, hear! Besides, Ganguly is accused as a private person, not in his role as WBHRC Chairman. He should not use the emblem at all.
Isn't abuse of national emblems itself a crime ?
See 10(3)State Emblem Of India(Regulation Of Use)Rules,2007
10. Restriction on the use of the emblem.– (1) No person (including former functionaries of the Government, like, former Ministers, former Members of Parliament, former Members of Legislative Assemblies, former judges and retired Government officials), other than those authorised under these rules, shall use the emblem in any manner.
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