Justice Swantanter Kumar: Ex-intern demands SC comply with Vishakha

New Delhi: A former law intern, who has made sexual harassment allegations against Justice Swatanter Kumar, on Monday, moved the Supreme Court, asking that the court quash a full court 5 December order which said that it would not entertain complaints against former judges of the Court. The writ-petition was filed in the court of the Chief Justice of India P Sathasivam, and also asks for the apex court to ensure that a proper forum be constituted to conduct inquiries in cases of sexual harassment in the legal system. [caption id=“attachment_1336913” align=“alignleft” width=“380”]  Representational image[/caption] The Court has decided to now hear the matter on 15 January and it is believed that the court has also asked the law intern who made the allegation to be present. Justice Kumar who is currently heading the National Green Tribunal, has described the allegations as “incredulous and false” and “some kind of conspiracy”. The petitioner has essentially demanded two key things from the Supreme Court. The first relates to the full court 5 December order which said that it would not entertain complaints against former judges of the Court. The order was passed after an earlier complaint of sexual harassment was filed against former SC judge Justice AK Ganguly. When the law intern had filed her complaint to the Secretary General/Registrar General of the Supreme Court, he had expressed an inability to do anything about the complaint due to the full court order. The intern now wants this order dismissed, so that a proper inquiry can be constituted against the Judge whom she alleges sexually harassed her. According to the petition, the Court can’t deny the intern a right to file a writ petition in the court, as it would be violative of her Constitutional rights. The second key demand being made by the intern is that the Court should issue an order under under Article 141 of the Indian Constitution, which states that, “The law declared by the Supreme Court shall be binding on all courts within the territory of India.” The intern’s petition wants the apex court to ensure that under its directive, each and every court in India constitutes a proper sexual harassment committee under the Vishaka guidelines. This would not only cover the lower courts and high courts, but also quasi-judicial bodies such as Armed Forces, Green Tribunal, etc. In the earlier affidavit submitted by the intern, she alleged Justice Kumar was a sitting judge at the time of the alleged incident. The alleged incident took place in May 2012. The intern’s demand for a Supreme Court has received support from Additional Solicitor General Indira Jaising, leading lawyers Kamini Jaiswal, Harish Salve and Vrinda Grover.