Justice Ganguly kissed my arm, said he loved me: Law intern

Accused of sexual harassment, former Supreme Court judge AK Ganguly has so far denied all the allegations against him, and ruled out resigning as the head of the West Bengal Human Rights Commission. However, while the Supreme Court panel that probed the incident had only gone so far as to admit there was merit in the woman’s allegations, Additional Solicitor General Indira Jaising has revealed the entire statement of the victim to establish why Ganguly should face action. Jaising had written to the Prime Minister seeking the dismissal of Ganguly from his post over the allegations on 13 November. But in an exclusive article in the Indian Express today, the lawyer has said that his complete brazenness had compelled her to reveal the statement of the victim made before the three-judge panel which probed the incident following the defence of the former judge by members of the legal and political fraternity. In her statement made in a sworn affidavit, the victim has told the panel that when she went to meet with the judge at a hotel room in New Delhi on 24 December 2012, there were two other persons present, who left after she began working. Despite her protests, Ganguly allegedly kept trying to book a room for her in the hotel and also kept trying to get her to drink wine while he was consuming alcohol. [caption id=“attachment_1288783” align=“alignleft” width=“380”]  Ganguly has rejected all calls for his resignation so far. PTI[/caption] The judge allegedly after trying to get her to stay in the same room as him to complete the report also allegedly made unwanted physical contact with the intern. “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 has said in her statement. The intern then described how she left the hotel room and was followed to the lobby by the judge, who also allegedly called her the next day multiple times. ( Read the complete statement  in the Indian Express here) The Supreme Court panel while indicting the former judge had said that the victim had disclosed a case of an unwelcome sexual advance when she had visited the judge’s hotel room. However, the apex court had not taken any action since Justice Ganguly was not a judge of the court at the time and the woman wasn’t attached to the Supreme Court. However, following his indictment, there have been calls from across political parties for the dismissal of the former judge in the event that he did not resign. BJP’s Sushma Swaraj had called for the resignation or dismissal of Justice Ganguly in the Lok Sabha and has been backed by the Trinamool Congress. While the former judge has studiously avoided making any comment on the issue, today’s revelations will only make his position more difficult to hold on to.