Chief Justice of India Ranjan Gogoi
The Delhi High Court on Monday dismissed a plea seeking to restrain the media from publishing allegations of sexual harassment against Chief Justice of India Ranjan Gogoi by a former Supreme Court employee.
A bench headed by Chief Justice Rajendra Menon said the top court is already seized of the matter and no interference was needed.
The plea, filed by NGO Anti Corruption Council of India, had said publication of allegations against the CJI directly hit the Indian judicial system.
The petition had sought immediate restriction on the media from further telecasting or publishing the allegations till conclusion of the three-judge panel's inquiry.
The allegations levelled by the former woman employee of the Supreme Court are being enquired into by a three-judge panel of the apex court which held its first proceeding on April 26.
The woman's allegations against the CJI were brought into the public domain by some news web portals on April 20.
She had worked at Justice Gogoi's home office in Delhi and the allegations were carried by the news portals based on her affidavit which was sent to 22 judges of the top court.
In her affidavit, the woman described two incidents of alleged harassment, days after Justice Gogoi was appointed CJI last October and her subsequent persecution.
The woman alleged that she was removed from service after she rebuffed his "sexual advances". She claimed that her husband and brother-in-law, both of whom were head constables, were suspended for a 2012 criminal case that had been mutually resolved.
(With PTI inputs)
