NLS Students Condemn In-House Panel Report Exonerating CJI In The Sexual Harassment Case

The students of the National Law School of India University, Bangalore have issued a statement criticising the in-house panel report which has dismissed the allegations of sexual harassment raised by a former SC employee against the CJI.

They condemned the "brazenness in the arbitrary power displayed by Justice Ranjan Gogoi in responding to the sexual harassment allegations levelled against him".

The statement said that two key principles were violated by the panel :

• First, that no man shall be a judge in his own cause, and this violation extends to the appointment of the enquiry committee by the accused himself.
• Second, that the complainant was given no notice of special hearing, and was openly vilified in court.

The statement said that such responses will deter "women who may be victims of harassment within asymmetrical power structures that exist in society from seeking relief before the highest court of the land and the guarantor of constitutional protections".

"We reiterate the inescapable conclusions reached after the MeToo movement - that women are routinely disbelieved, shamed and suppressed at institutional level when they voice their experiences, and we believe that the Supreme Court today, with due respect to the outcome of the proceedings, has partaken in the same", said the statement, which is stated to be endorsed by NLU Students Consortium.

They demanded the need for an "independent, transparent and impartial enquiry of the matter, where the complainant is afforded full respect and consideration".