KOLKATA, Jan 6: Facing mounting pressure, Justice A K Ganguly today resigned as chairman of the West Bengal Human Rights Commission (WBHRC) following allegations of sexual harassment by a law intern, highly-placed sources said tonight.
The former Supreme Court Judge submitted his resignation to West Bengal Governor M K Narayanan when he met him at Raj Bhavan, the sources said.
Justice Ganguly was with the Governor for about 45 minutes.
Justice Ganguly when asked by PTI whether he has resigned, replied “I won’t comment.”
“It is a good thing that he has resigned a day after talking to me,” former Attorney General Soli Sorabjee said in Delhi. Justice Ganguly had telephone him yesterday and said he was contemplating resigning as WBHRC chairman.
Additional Solicitor General Indira Jaising, who has been strongly pitching for his removal as the human rights panel chief, said it was “overdue”.
Senior advocate said it was the “right decision” taken by Justice Ganguly.
Justice Ganguly’s decision to quit came close on the heels of the Union Cabinet on Thursday approving a proposal for sending a Presidential reference to the Supreme Court on the issue, which was seen as a step towards his removal as WBHRC chairman.
A three-judge Supreme Court panel had indicted Justice Ganguly by holding that the statement of the intern, both written and oral, had prima facie disclosed “an act of unwelcome behaviour (unwelcome verbal/non-verbal conduct of sexual nature)” by the Judge with her in the Le Meridien hotel room on December 24 last year.
Justice Ganguly has denied the allegations of the law intern and blamed “powerful interests” of trying to tarnish his image due to certain judgments delivered by him.
In a letter of Chief Justice of India P Sathasivam last month, Justice Ganguly said he had never harassed the law intern nor made any unwelcome advances toward her or any other female intern.
Earlier in the day, Ganguly attended the office and acted upon a complaint against the alleged harassment of a school teacher.
Shukla Maja, a teacher from West Midnapore district, had written to him that she was being subject to unbearable humiliation by her colleagues following her marriage with someone from the scheduled class.
Intervening in the matter, Ganguly asked the district inspector of school (secondary education) to enquire into the matter and submit a report to him within four weeks. (PTI)
Trending Now
E-Paper
Follow our WhatsApp channel