The BJP said on Saturday it would raise in Parliament the issue of Justice A.K. Ganguly continuing as Chairperson of the West Bengal Human Rights Commission even after a Supreme Court panel indicted him for sexual harassment.
“Someone who has violated human rights cannot continue as chairman of a human rights commission. We will raise this matter in Parliament,” tweeted Leader of the Opposition in the Lok Sabha Sushma Swaraj. She has been demanding that Justice Ganguly step down after his indictment.
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Taking suo motu cognisance of the case, the National Commission for Women (NCW) said on Friday that it had sent notice to the former judge, asking him to explain his position after the indictment by the three-member panel. It also issued notice to the Delhi Police Commissioner, seeking an explanation why action was not taken after the woman narrated the entire incident to the panel.
Justice Ganguly has been found guilty of “unwelcome behaviour” and “conduct of a sexual nature” towards a law intern last year. However, the Supreme Court panel said that as per administrative powers vested with it, it could not take action against a retired judge.
On Friday, BJP leader Arun Jaitley said the Supreme Court could not follow an “escapist route” on the issue, demanding that the court monitor a probe in the case as it had done in matters like the 2G spectrum scam. The Leader of the Opposition in the Rajya Sabha wrote on his Facebook page that the court’s reasoning that it could not deal with the charges owing to its “administrative” limitations because Justice Ganguly was a retired judge “fails the test of conscience.”
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According to NCW Chairperson Mamta Sharma, the NCW sent a letter to the Delhi Police on November 12, asking them to file an FIR to investigate the case. “We have not got a reply yet, and have sent a reminder. We have asked them to take action.”