Justice NV Ramana, one of the judges who was part of the three-member committee constituted to look into the sexual harassment charges against Chief Justice of India Ranjan Gogoi, has recused from the panel, reports Bar and Bench. The panel, headed by Justice Sharad A Bobde, who is next in line to be the Chief Justice of India, also comprises of Justice Indira Banerjee and was to initiate the inquiry into the allegations from Friday.
This comes a day after the former Supreme Court staffer, who has levelled the allegation against Justice Gogoi, had objected to the inclusion of Justice Ramana into the panel, alleging that he is a ‘close friend’ of the CJI, as per a LiveLaw report. According to the reports, she had stated that Justice Ramana at an event in Hyderabad had termed her allegations as ‘baseless’ and so her complaint may not get "objective and fair hearing" before the committee of which Justice Ramana is a part of.
Quoting sources, Bar and Bench reported that Justice Ramana has officially written to the Supreme Court Registry to recuse from the panel.
Informed sources said Justice Ramana has made up mind to recuse from panel as he feels strongly that baseless allegations are being made to prejudice inquiry and its outcome. Sources said he has either submitted his recusal letter to Justice Bobde or in the process of doing so.
— Dhananjay Mahapatra (@toi_dhanajayM) April 25, 2019
According to reports, the panel will be reconstituted soon and a new judge will be inducted into the panel by Friday evening.
Chief Justice of India Ranjan Gogoi has been accused of sexual harassment by a former Supreme Court staffer employed with him from May 2018 to December 2018. In a sworn affidavit submitted to 22 Supreme Court judges, the complainant has alleged that she was removed unceremoniously from her post after the incident of sexual assault and her family was also harassed after that.
The Chief Justice of India has denied the allegations, claiming a larger conspiracy against the judiciary.
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 of the CJI himself, conducted a suo motu hearing on the allegations.