'Being a good judge is no excuse for what Justice AK Ganguly did'

Justice AK Ganguly’s feeble defence against his alleged sexual misconduct with a woman intern was shattered today with Additional Solicitor General Indra Jaising revealing the statement of the victim made before the Supreme Court appointed three-judge panel. Not only that, the piece authored by Jaising in The Indian Express, perhaps had the mouths of those siding with the retired judge shocked.

“I immediately rose from my seat, but before I had a chance to respond to the statement, he caught hold of my arm, saying, ‘You know that I’m attracted to you, don’t you? You must be thinking, what, this old man is getting drunk and saying such things. But I really like you, I love you’. When I tried to move away, he kissed my arm and repeated that he loved me,” the intern had said in her statement.

Union Minister Jayanthi Natarajan called Jaising brave for revealing these details.

Speaking on a panel on CNN-IBN’s India at 9, she said,“The cabinet should take this issue up as soon as possible. I will personally request the prime minister to send this issue for a presidential reference.”

However, Natrajan said that if the system had taken action earlier, it would not have required all the details to be revealed in the public domain. The minister also lauded the young women of this generation for coming out in the open to seek justice.

“Despite the trauma they are going to face, the fact that girls are speaking up is something we should be grateful for,” she said.

The panelists also said it was surprising that the highest court of law in the country had washed its hands off the issue and that some individuals were still defending Ganguly.

“I am amazed at how the civil society in Kolkata has reacted, people have repeatedly defended him saying he is innocent until he is found guilty,” said TMC’s Mohua Maitra.

The party has called for the dismissal or resignation of the judge in Parliament.

“The fact that Ganguly is saying that he did not get a chance to defend himself is also untrue. He deposed before the SC panel,” Maitra said.

Natrajan also said that it was surprising that the apex court hadn’t taken any action.

“The SC making a statement that they won’t take up any more cases of retired judges is absolutely baffling. They should have moved this case to the judicial side immediately. It was baffling that the highest court of the land has washed its hand off of this case,” said Natarajan.

BJP’s Smriti Irani said that the incident sent a bad signal to a woman who was brave enough to stand up for herself.

“For judges to say that they do not seek to intervene is very disappointing,” Irani said.

When asked if lawyers were disappointed with this decision of the Supreme Court, lawyer Kamini Jaiswal told CNN-IBN, “The Delhi Police should have filed a case the day the report came out. Not just lawyers but the whole country is horrified.”

“It is not easy for this girl to live with it. The whole incident will traumatise all interns,” Jaiswal said.

All the women present on the debate were unanimous on their Ganguly stepping down.

“At least retired judges must come out in public and speak on the issue. Good that this affidavit has come out, now those who supported him will know. He is required to step down,” Jaiswal said.

Natarajan promised swift action by the government.

“Time is of essence and action should be taken as soon as possible, and that it is the view of my party,” she said.

Maitra was of the opinion that may be because he had done good work in the past, people still supported Ganguly.

“Lets not forget he was the sitting chairman of the human rights commission when he committed the crime. The day the news came out, TMC came said he has got to go. But it is not in our hands,” Maitra said.

Irani cited a survey by a leading newspaper in the country that shows 94 percent women in India still don’t feel safe and said his past reputation wasn’t a defence for Ganguly’s conduct.

“Being a good judge or giving a good judgement is no excuse to do what he did. If he has an iota of respect for the judiciary he should have stepped down. I hope the President of India will sack this man who doesn’t deserve to represent a human rights body,” she said.