New Delhi: Justice A K Ganguly, who retired from the Supreme Court after handling a number of high-profile cases, has been accused by a young woman intern of sexual harassment, a charge he strongly denied today.
The intern's complaint in a legal portal earlier this month that the judge had misbehaved with her had prompted the Supreme Court to set up a committee of three of its judges, to go into the matter.
The name of the judge against whom the allegation was made was made public today after an official of the apex court disclosed that the Committee had recorded statements of the intern as well as Justice Ganguly.
As soon as the name became public, Justice Ganguly, who now heads the West Bengal Human Rights Commission, expressed "shock" over the allegation and said he was "shattered".
"I am denying everything. I have told the committee that all the allegations levelled by the intern are wrong. I don't know how such allegations have been levelled against me," he told PTI.
He was giving his reaction after it was also officially disclosed that the three-judge committee has submitted its report to the Chief Justice of India.
"I totally deny the allegations. I am a victim of situations," he told television channels.
"I am not ashamed of anything," he said in reply to a question in regard to the alleged episode which came out in public domain after the intern spoke about in a legal portal earlier this month.
He said the charges against him were totally wrong. The girl had not raised any sexual harassment issue with him, he said, adding that he had not done any physical harm to her.
The former judge said the intern worked with him though she was not officially allocated to him. She came in the place of another intern who had gone abroad after marriage. "I never put up a poster. She came on her own."
He said the girl had come to his house on a number of occasions in connection with work.
Later, when he appeared at a public function, the judge was followed by who sought his comments on the controversy.
"I will not say anything. What kind of a question is this?" he shot back.
He also refused to say whether he would resign from the post of chairman of the West Bengal Human Rights Commission.
