Justice Ganguly breaks his silence, says he was denied a copy of law intern's affidavit

Former Supreme Court Justice A.K Ganguly who has been accused of sexually harassing a law intern said on Thursday that a copy of the affidavit of the intern was denied to him on the grounds of confidentiality.

In an exclusive interview with Asian News International (ANI) he said that he was thankful for getting a copy of the affidavit, which had been denied to him earlier.

"I am thankful to you for giving me the copy of the affidavit of the intern which I am seeing for the first time," said Ganguly.

"A normal law requires that the person whose honor is at stake must be given a copy of the allegation on the basis of which he has to respond. I was asked to go through the affidavit and respond immediately. I wasn't given it in advance; I asked for it but was denied," he said.

"I saw the affidavit when I appeared before the SC committee on 27th Nov. I asked to see it but was denied on the ground that it is confidential. I am very sorry in the way the media is hounding me as if I am a convicted criminal. I wouldn't expect media to be this way,' he added.

"I am not saying anything else people should form their own opinion,' he said.

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.