People’s Union for Civil Liberties (PUCL) has demanded that the Supreme Court immediately set up an internal complaints committee (ICC) to inquire into complaints of sexual harassment against its judges, including the Chief Justice of India, on the lines of the committees to be constituted under the Sexual Harassment of Women at Workplace (Prevention, Prohibition and Redressal) Act of 2013 and judicial guidelines framed in the famous Vishaka case.
In a press communique, it expressed disappointment over the Supreme Court having “responded precisely in the same patriarchal manner in which most institutions in India have been seen to respond” while dealing with a sexual harassment complaint lodged by a former employee of the court against CJI Ranjan Gogoi. It disapproved of the practices of vilification of the complainant, alienating her from mainstream and intimidating her supporters.
A confidential report submitted by an In-House Committee of the Supreme Court giving a clean chit to the CJI, without affording an opportunity to the complainant to engage a lawyer, and the consequent refusal to give a copy of the report to the victim “has in effect grievously injured and tarnished the image and record of the highest court in the land,” the statement signed jointly by PUCL president Ravi Kiran Jain and general secretary V. Suresh read.
“It is sad that a historic opportunity has been squandered by the Supreme Court to demonstrate its commitment to ensure fairness, gender justice, rule of law and natural justice even when the highest functionaries of the highest court of the land is involved,” the human rights organisation lamented. It insisted that the report of the In-House Committee should be given to the complainant forthwith and also placed before the Full Court (all judges) of the Supreme Court.
Further, PUCL demanded that her complaint should be placed before an independent external committee headed by a woman and consisting of experts on handling cases of sexual harassment as well as former judges of the Supreme Court to inquire into the allegations levelled against the CJI.