SC judge appointed to probe sexual harassment case in Madhya Pradesh

In April last year, Ansari had set up the three-member panel to investigate sexual harassment charge against Justice Gangele

The Rajya Sabha chairman has appointed Supreme Court judge Ranjan Gogoi as head of the panel probing sexual harassment charges against a Madhya Pradesh High Court judge following the retirement of judge Vikramjit Sen from the apex court.

Attorney General Mukul Rohatgi had recently expressed his view that despite his retirement from the apex court, Sen could continue to head the panel as the Judges Inquiry Act, 1968 is silent on the issue on whether a judge can head the committee despite his retirement from the court.

He had left it to the Rajya Sabha Chairman Hamid Ansari to take a call on whether he wants Sen to continue or replace him with a sitting judge.

The law ministry had, however, said that Sen was heading the panel by virtue of being a sitting judge of the Supreme Court and, hence he should be replaced. Sen was a sitting Supreme Court judge when he was appointed the chief of the panel in April last year.

Vice-President Ansari decided to reconstitute the committee.

A Rajya Sabha notification issued on Wednesday said that in partial modification of its earlier notification, "the Chairman, Rajya Sabha has re-constituted, for the purpose of making an investigation into the grounds on which the removal of Justice S K Gangele of the Madhya Pradesh High Court is prayed for, a Committee consisting of the following three Members:- Justice Ranjan Gogoi, Supreme Court of India, Manjula Chellur, Chief Justice of Calcutta High Court and K K Venugopal, senior advocate, Supreme Court of India".

Chellur and Venugopal were already a part of the committee.

On the stand taken by the law ministry that Sen should not continue as he headed the panel by virtue of being a SC judge, the AG had said that even the opposite view "is also not contrary to law".

The ministry was also asked if another sitting SC judge is appointed in place of Justice Sen, will the panel start its investigation afresh or continue from where the Sen panel had left.

The AG had said the probe by the committee could recommence from the stage it was on December 31 when Sen retired.

In April last year, Ansari had set up the three-member panel to investigate sexual harassment charge against Gangele.

In March last year, 58 MPs had submitted a motion to Ansari for initiating impeachment proceedings against Gangele for alleged sexual harassment of a woman judge in Gwalior. The motion was admitted by Ansari.

The motion lists three "grounds of misconduct" for impeachment. "Sexual harassment" of the woman judge, "victimisation" of the judge "for not submitting to his illegal and immoral demands", including but not limited to, transferring her from Gwalior to Sidhi, and "misusing" his position as the administrative judge of the MP High Court to use the subordinate judiciary to victimise the judge.