The former Supreme Court staffer who has accused the Chief Justice of India, Ranjan Gogoi, of sexual harassment stated on Tuesday that she will not be appearing before the in-house panel headed by Justice Sharad A Bobde to look into the charges. She said this was because she feels that she was “not likely to get justice from this committee”. The in-house panel consists of Justices Bobde, Indu Malhotra and Indira Banerjee.
In a press release, the complainant has stated that she has been compelled to walk out of the proceedings because the atmosphere of the in-house committee was “frightening” and the record of the statements that she has made during the three hearings conducted till date have not been made available to her.
“I was compelled to walk out of the committee proceedings today because the committee seemed not to appreciate the fact that this was not an ordinary complaint but was a complaint of sexual harassment against a sitting CJI and therefore it was required to adopt procedure that would ensure fairness and equality in the highly unequal circumstances that I am placed. I had hoped that the approach of the committee towards me would be sensitive and not one that would cause me further fear, anxiety and trauma. I have not been informed if the committee has sought any response from the CJI to my complaint and I have been left guessing and anxious on all these matters,” the woman said in the press release.
The woman added that her lawyer was not allowed to be present with her during the proceeding and that she was told that it was “neither an in-house committee proceeding nor a proceeding under the Vishakha Guidelines and that it was an informal proceeding.”
“I was asked to narrate my account which I did to the best of my ability even though I felt quite intimidated and nervous in the presence of three Hon’ble Judges of the Supreme Court and without having a lawyer or support person with me,” the woman said. The woman added that due to stress, she has lost hearing in one ear and hence was unable to hear what the panel head was dictating as a record of her statements.
“The committee declined my request for video recording of the committee proceedings. I was also clearly told that no lawyer or support person could be present with me during the committee hearing. I was orally instructed that I should not disclose the proceedings of the committee to the media and was to not even share the proceedings with my lawyer Advocate Vrinda Grover,” the woman added in the release.
She said that in the subsequent hearing as well, which took place on April 29, she was not allowed to have a lawyer or a support person present with her.
“I was repeatedly asked by the committee as to why I had made this complaint of sexual harassment so late. I found the atmosphere of the committee very frightening and I was very nervous because of being confronted and questioned by three Supreme Court Judges and without even the presence of my lawyer/support person. Also because of my impaired hearing I was at times unable to follow what was being dictated as my statement. I was also not shown what was being recorded and no copy of my statement recorded on 26th and 29th April has been given to me till date,” she added.
The former SC staffer also said that she had submitted an application to the panel to seek the call records, WhatsApp calls and chat records of two relevant mobile numbers but her application was not accepted. She says the application was finally taken by the committee on April 30, 2019, “when feeling helpless and distressed I could no longer continue to participate in the committee hearings,” she adds.
The former SC staffer has alleged in her release that after the second hearing concluded, she was followed by two men on a motorcycle – whose partial number she says she was able to note – while she was on her way home and the next day she had submitted that the committee proceedings be treated as a formal inquiry and follow the spirit of the Prevention of Sexual Harassment of Women at the Workplace Act. However, she says her request was turned down and the panel said that they will continue exparte if she wished not to participate.
“In these circumstances where: 1) I have not been allowed to have the presence of my lawyer/support person despite my impaired hearing, nervousness and fear; 2) There being no video or audio recording of the Committee proceedings; 3) I have not been supplied even a copy of my statement as recorded on 26th and 29th April 2019; and 4) I was not informed about the procedure this committee is following; I felt I was not likely to get justice from this committee and so I am no longer participating in the 3-Judge Committee proceedings,” she concludes in the release.
The woman has accused CJI Ranjan Gogoi of sexually harassing her on two occasions in October 2018. In a sworn affidavit submitted to 22 Supreme Court judges, the complainant had alleged that she was removed unceremoniously from her post after the incident of sexual assault and her family was also harassed after that.
The in-house panel was formed by Chief Justice Ranjan Gogoi after widespread criticism of the manner in which the three-judge bench of the Supreme Court, comprising the CJI himself, conducted a suo motu hearing on the allegations.
The CJI has denied the allegations and claimed that it was a larger conspiracy against the judiciary.