Kirti Azad for early removal of Justice Ganguly from WBHRC

He said that the former SC Justice should have been removed immediately after he was accused

Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leader Kirti Azad on Tuesday said that former Supreme Court Justice A K Ganguly should have been removed from the West Bengal Human Rights Commission immediately after he was accused of molesting a law intern.

"They should have taken this step long time ago. Immediate steps should have been taken when Ganguly was not willing to step down from his position," said Azad.

"The delay puts a question on why did they take so long. A girl has been molested which makes it a very serious issue. There was no reason to delay it till so long," he said.

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. In a letter to the Chief Justice of India, P Sathasivam, Ganguly 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 written a letter to the Chief Justice of India criticizing 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.