Case of sexual harassment against SC judge an aberration: CJI

Assured the nation justice will be done in "all respect"

Chief Justice of India P Sathasivam today termed as an "aberration" the allegation of sexual harassment against his former colleague by an intern and assured the nation that justice will be done in "all respect".

"During my short stint, an incident of alleged aberration has come to light through media reports. On the very same day, I constituted a three-member Committee to look into it. I assure every one that justice will be done in all respect," the CJI said.

Addressing lawyers on the Law Day function in the Supreme Court lawn, Justice Sathasivam asked the media to "sensitively" deal with sensitive issues that may cause irreparable damage to the institution like judiciary.

"My humble request is that any casual carefree remark which may have the tendency of causing irreparable damage to the Institution may be delicately considered before reporting as it may have the impact not only at the national level but also internationally.

"Reporting may be done considering the Institution and not the individual by balancing equities. Every sensitive matter, therefore, needs to be dealt with more sensitivity, lest it should cause irreparable harm and has the tendency of not putting the clock back," he said.

He also expressed concern over the backlog of pending cases and said that the efforts have borne fruits as "the pendency of 69,446 (cases) at the end of June has been reduced to 65,893 by the end of October in the Supreme Court.