Government dragging feet in Justice Ganguly case: Balbir Punj

Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leader Balbir Punj on Saturday said that the government was dragging its feet in the case of former justice A.K Ganguly who has been accused of sexually harassing a law intern, just because he is a former Supreme Court Judge.

"Somewhere the government has been dragging feet just because the accused in this case is a former Supreme Court judge," said Punj.

"If a noted journalist can go to jail for a similar offence, and a so-called 'holy' man is also not spared, I don't see any reason why the government should spare Ganguly," he said.

"We have been saying it from day one, that irrespective of the status of an accused, if there are charges they must be investigated, and if they are found to be true, then the person concerned must face the law," he added.

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 on Thursday.

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 Sunday, 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.