Sexual harassment allegations against CJI: SC asks lawyer claiming conspiracy to appear

The Supreme Court Tuesday directed an advocate, who has claimed larger conspiracy to frame Chief Justice of India Ranjan Gogoi on allegations of sexual harassment, to appear before it tomorrow to support his stand with materials.

The apex court, which has constituted a special bench to hear the matter related to allegations of sexual harassment against the CJI after receiving the sworn affidavit of the advocate in this regard, issued notice to lawyer Utsav Singh Bains for his personal appearance on Wednesday.

A three-judge special bench comprising Justices Arun Mishra, Rohinton Fali Nariman and Deepak Gupta asked the Delhi Police Commissioner to provide "adequate police protection" to the lawyer while noting that he has expressed apprehension of threat to his safety.

Bains had filed an affidavit following the unprecedented hearing on Saturday during which Justice Gogoi had said that some "bigger force" was behind the controversy as they wanted to "deactivate" the CJI's office and he would not stoop too low even to deny these allegations.

The hearing on April 20 in the case, titled as a matter of "great public importance touching upon the independence of judiciary", was held after stories were published on some news portals about the sexual harassment allegations levelled by a former employee of the apex court against the CJI.

During the brief hearing on Tuesday, the bench asked at the outset, "Is advocate Utsav Singh Bains present in court?".

After finding he was not in the courtroom, the bench ordered, "Utsav Singh Bains, advocate, is not present today. Issue notice for personal presence of Utsav Singh Bains, advocate.

"We also direct him to produce in this court the material in support of the averments made in Paragraph Nos.17 and 20 of the affidavit (filed by Bains)."
The bench further said: "Since the advocate has expressed apprehension of threat to his safety, we direct the Commissioner of Police, Delhi, to provide adequate police protection and also to ensure his presence in court tomorrow. List tomorrow i.e. on April 24 at 10.30 AM."
"And then the said corporate figure attempted to get the case transferred from the court of that Supreme Court judge but did not succeed and thus ganged up with an alleged fixer...and his aides to frame the Chief Justice of India in a false case of sexual harassment to pressurize him to resign."
It further claimed, "But when the said Ajay further narrated the entire sequence of events and facts of the case, the deponent was not convinced and found several loopholes in the said Ajay's version of events."