New Delhi: Activist lawyer Indira Jaising told the Supreme Court on Wednesday that women advocates don’t feel safe anymore in the top court and demanded a free and fair inquiry into the allegations of sexual harassment against Chief Justice of India Ranjan Gogoi.
A special bench headed by Justices Arun Mishra was told by senior advocate Jaising that inquiry into the claims made by lawyer Utsav Singh Bains that there was “larger conspiracy” to frame the CJI, should not prejudice the inquiry by three judges of the apex court, on administrative side, into the allegations.
The bench, also comprising Justices R F Nariman and Deepak Gupta, clarified that these two are separate matters and the hearings about the claims made by the lawyer will not prejudice the inquiry.
“We clarify that the exercise which is undertaken by the Court on judicial side is outside the scope of the said matter, the correctness of which has to be looked into on the administrative side by the appropriate authorities,” the bench said.
“We are taking up the matter so as to ascertain the correctness of the averments made in the affidavit, to ascertain the various aspects which have been mentioned which cannot be done without proper investigation and any order passed on judicial side by this Court shall not affect the matter on administrative side,” it said.
Jaising said she has been appearing in the matter as a senior member of the bar as, “We as woman lawyers are concerned for the independence of judiciary and its integrity”.
“I am appearing in-person as a senior member of bar. I wanted to convey that women lawyers don’t feel safe anymore in this court. I am showing my anguish. I am with you on the free and fair inquiry. But there is more to be inquired,” she told the bench.
Jaising said there should be an independent inquiry into the sexual harassment allegations against the CJI levelled by an ex-employee of the apex court.
To this, the bench said that she does not know the contents of the affidavit right know and would seek her assistance when required.
She said that nothing is more serious or less serious when it comes to the independence of the judiciary.
Bains had filed an affidavit following the unprecedented hearing on Saturday during which Justice Gogoi had said that some “bigger force” was behind the controversy as they wanted to “deactivate” the CJI’s office and he would not stoop too low even to deny these allegations.
The hearing on April 20 in the case, titled as a matter of “great public importance touching upon the independence of judiciary”, was held after stories were published on some news portals about the sexual harassment allegations levelled by a former employee of the apex court against the CJI.
Also read: Is Supreme Court handling sexual harassment allegation against CJI Ranjan Gogoi correctly?