A special bench headed by Chief Justice of India Ranjan Gogoi was constituted on Saturday to hear a "matter of great public importance" touching upon the independence of judiciary. The bench comprising Gogoi and Justices Arun Mishra and Sanjeev Khanna is currently meeting.
The bench was constituted after Solicitor General Tushar Mehta mentioned before the Supreme Court allegations of sexual harassment had cropped up against Gogoi.
According to media reports, a 35-year-old woman who worked as junior court assistant in the Supreme Court, alleged that Gogoi made sexual advances towards her in October 2018. The woman was reportedly dismissed from service in December. The woman sent an affidavit to 22 Supreme Court judges on April 19.
Gogoi was quoted as saying, “Less than 10 hours notice was given to me to respond. What I want to tell citizens is that judiciary of this country is under serious threat.”
Supreme Court Secretary General Sanjeev Sudhakar Kalgaonkar said all the allegations made by the woman concerned against Gogoi are malafide and have no basis. "No doubt, it is a malafide allegation and he said a hearing on it is going to take place right now," Kalgaonkar said, confirming that a letter by the woman has been received by several sitting judges.
The registry came out with the notice that the special bench has been constituted to deal with the "matter of great public importance" touching upon the independence of judiciary.
(With PTI inputs)
