Congress urges Delhi Police to take 'appropriate action' against AK Ganguly

The Congress party on Wednesday urged the Delhi police to take appropriate action against the former Supreme Court Justice A. K. Ganguly, who has been accused of sexually harassing a law intern in December last year.

Congress leader Sandeep Dikshit said that authorities must take appropriate action in the matter.

"It is true that the Delhi police approached the intern as soon as the case came into limelight so that she registers a complaint. Police must seriously consider the fact that the girl told the media and other people that if anything of this sort happens, then I expect the Delhi police or the other concerned authorities to act in an appropriate manner," said Dikshit.

Meanwhile, Janata Dal United (JD-U) leader Sabir Ali advised the girl to come forward and file complaint.

"The girl must speak out about the molestation. She should not fear anyone. When the entire country is with you, why are you afraid and of whom are you afraid of? Staying behind the veil you are asking somebody to resign, I feel it is not just," said Ali.

The Bharatiya Janata party (BJP) has been consistently demanding Ganguly's resignation.

"What can be more unfortunate than this that people in authorities are being accused of such acts? I think he must voluntarily step down from his post. I think that strict actions must be taken against him so that a strong message is sent across the society that no crime against women will be tolerated further," said BJP leader Anurag Thakur.

In a letter to the Chief Justice of India, P Sathasivam, Ganguly on Monday denied the charges levelled against him.

Ganguly wrote in his letter that he was 'anguished' that the Supreme Court had not addressed him properly. He further wrote that this case was a move to tarnish his image and he had made no sexual advances towards anyone.

The former judge also claimed that it was a 'palpable design' to malign his image as the affidavit by the victim was 'leaked' to the media.

The former law intern has issued a statement to the Chief Justice of India slamming Ganguly's letter.

On December 19, the Home Ministry had sought the opinion of the Attorney General on the suggestion for the removal of AK Ganguly from his position as Chairman of the West Bengal Human Rights Commission. The suggestion is that the President will have to make a reference to the Supreme Court, which will then order an inquiry.

According to reports, the draft of the presidential reference is expected to go to President Pranab Mukherjee.

On December 15, Additional Solicitor General Indira Jaising wrote to Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and sought the removal of Justice Ganguly as chairman of the West Bengal Human Rights Commission.

Justice Ganguly has been accused of sexually assaulting a law intern who worked with him. The Supreme Court had set up a three-judge panel, which heard testimonies from both, the law intern and Ganguly and submitted its report to the Chief Justice of India, P. Sathasivam, naming Ganguly as the accused.

The alleged sexual molestation incident is said to have taken place in a five-star hotel in Delhi last December.