SC says cannot rule out conspiracy against former CJI Ranjan Gogoi

New Delhi, Feb 18: The possibility of a conspiracy against former Chief Justice of India Ranjan Gogoi cannot be ruled out, the Supreme Court said today. The observations were made while closing an inquiry set up after he was accused of sexual harassment.

The court said that such a conspiracy could be linked to Justice Gogoi's decisions, including his views on the NRC and his attempts to streamline the Supreme Court's registry.

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The decision of the court was based on a report of former judge, Justice A K Patnaik. He was tasked with investigating a larger conspiracy and also whether middlemen and fixers working with the disgruntled court officials were trying to fix judges.

"The Justice Patnaik report acknowledges the existence of a conspiracy against the ex Chief Justice and it cannot be ruled out," the Supreme Court said. "Certain tough administrative decisions were taken to streamline the process in the registry," the court also said.

The court said that the Intelligence Bureau director said in a report that Justice Gogoi had taken a serious view in cases relating to the NRC and thee were strong reasons to believe that some are unhappy with the decision.

The inquiry was ordered the allegations were made by lawyer Utsav Bains.