New Delhi: Justice Indu Malhotra was Thursday appointed as the third member of the in-house inquiry panel constituted to look into the allegations of sexual harassment against Chief Justice of India Ranjan Gogoi, Justice S.A. Bobde told ThePrint.
Justice Malhotra replaces Justice N.V. Ramana, who recused himself earlier Thursday. The recusal comes a day after a former Supreme Court staffer who has made the allegations against CJI Gogoi wrote to the panel, headed by Justice S.A. Bobde, expressing her concerns over its composition.
In her reply filed Wednesday, the woman said she feared her character had already been tarnished without a hearing. She particularly expressed her apprehension over the inclusion of Justice Ramana, who she claimed was a close personal friend of CJI Gogoi and “almost like family”.
The committee was constituted Monday, two days after news broke that the woman had filed an affidavit accusing Gogoi of sexually harassing her when she was posted at his residence.
Also read: Woman who accused CJI of sexual harassment fears she won’t get ‘objective and fair hearing’