New Delhi: The husband of the former Supreme Court staffer who accused Chief Justice of India Ranjan Gogoi of sexual harassment has been reinstated by Delhi Police, but he said his worries are far from over.
“Dar toh abhi bhi lagega (we are scared even now),” he said, referring to the departmental inquiries launched last December against him and his brother, also a head constable suspended by Delhi Police.
While the husband is being investigated for allegedly making “unsolicited calls to the CJI’s office”, his brother is accused of concealing a criminal case where he was a suspect. The Indian Express reported Wednesday that the duo had been reinstated by Delhi Police even as the inquiry against them continued.
Speaking to ThePrint, additional commissioner of police (Delhi Armed Police) C.K. Mein confirmed that the duo’s suspension had been revoked.
“Yes, we have been reinstated…” the husband added. “It happened last week and I got to know Monday after I got a call (from the department).”
However, he said his relief at the reinstatement was muted by a constant worry that he and his brother might be cornered or harassed on account of his wife’s allegations against the top judge.
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‘Doing much better’
Last month, an in-house panel formed by the Supreme Court rejected the woman’s complaint, saying it found “no substance in her allegations.
He refused to comment when asked about the course of action his wife now sought to take in the case.
Earlier, in May, he had told ThePrint that “perhaps there would have been a suicide in this house had lawyers (like Prashant Bhushan) not come to our rescue”.
Senior Supreme Court lawyer Prashant Bhushan, who advised the couple during the case, told ThePrint that while he hadn’t spoken to the woman lately, he “believes she is doing much better than earlier and is not as stressed”.
Bhushan said she would file an appeal against her dismissal from the Supreme Court and hence wasn’t planning to take up any other job in the meantime.
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An unprecedented crisis
The 35-year-old former Supreme Court staffer pushed the Indian judiciary into an unprecedented crisis on 19 April when she accused CJI Gogoi of sexual misconduct and other forms of harassment. She made the allegations in a 28-page affidavit she sent to 22 judges of the Supreme Court.
According to her, after she rebuffed Gogoi’s alleged advances, she received three transfers in quick succession.
When she sought leave one Saturday for a function at her daughter’s school, she said, she was asked to report to work after the event. Since Saturdays are half-days and the event ran late, she couldn’t report to work, she added, following which she was dismissed for unauthorised leave and questioning her transfers.
According to the woman, her husband and his brother were suspended soon after as well.
Gogoi had denied the allegations during a special hearing on 20 April, where he claimed they were part of a “bigger plot”, possibly one to “deactivate the office of the CJI”.
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The two brothers being reinstated is one way of taking the heat off the case. A subliminal message is being sent out : Be mindful of what you are up against. Let bygones be bygones.