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MP High Court judge cleared of sexual harassment charges by Rajya Sabha panel

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MP High Court judge cleared of sexual harassment charges by Rajya Sabha panel

[vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text]Justice SK Gangele of the Madhya Pradesh High Court has been cleared of the charge of sexual harassment by an inquiry committee constituted by the Rajya Sabha in April 2015 following allegations made against him by a former additional district and sessions judge of Gwalior.

The report of the inquiry committee headed by Supreme Court’s Justice R Banumathi and comprising Chief Justice of the Bombay High Court, Justice Manjula Chellur and Attorney General KK Venugopal was tabled in the Rajya Sabha on Friday shortly after Parliament’s winter session began.

Fifty-eight members of the Rajya Sabha had on March 4, 2015 given a notice to the then Chairman of the House, former Vice President Hamid Ansari for moving a motion for the impeachment of Justice Gangele. The inquiry committee constituted by Hamid Ansari on April 15, 2015 took over 31 months to complete its investigation in the case, while three of its presiding officers were changed during this period. The panel was first formed with Supreme Court’s Justice Vikramjit Sen as the presiding officer who was then replaced with Justice Ranjan Gogoi on February 10, 2016. Justice Rohinton Nariman was next made the presiding officer on March 17, 2016 but was replaced with Justice R Banumathi less than a month later on April 8, 2016.

Justice Gangele had been accused of sexually harassing the woman judge, victimising her “for not submitting to his illegal and immoral demands, transferring her from Gwalior to Sidhi” and “misusing his position as the administrative judge of the High Court” to use the subordinate judiciary to victimise her.

The inquiry committee questioned 22 witnesses – four listed by the complainant including herself, seven on behalf of Justice Gangele and the remaining seven comprising judges of the Madhya Pradesh High Court and district courts and court staff – during its 31-month tenure.

The 135-page report of the inquiry committee, tabled in the Rajya Sabha on Friday, concluded that: “the four instances of sexual harassment alleged by the complainant… are not proved beyond reasonable doubt”. Similarly, it says that the complainant’s allegation that Justice Gangele misused his position using subordinate judiciary to victimize her had also not been proved.

The report also says that the committee found no evidence against Justice Gangele on the complainant’s charge that she had been transferred as Additional District and Sessions Judge from Gwalior to Sidhi because she did not submit to his “illegal and immoral demands”. The Rajya Sabha panel held that the decision of the transfer committee to transfer the woman judge from Gwalior to Sidhi was based on the recommendation by the then district judge Kamal Singh Thakur “who had his own reasons to believe that the complainant was (i) habitual of making unnecessary complaints regarding her staff and non-allocation of substitute staff (ii) she did not use to behave cordially with other judges, especially the civil judges (iii) she made anonymous complaint against the district judge and other judges publicly stating that unlike the previous district judge, administrative skills of the present district judge were not adequate, and thus she should be transferred to some other place.”

However, the panel did conclude that “interference of the respondent judge (Justice Gangele) in transfer of the complainant may be an improper conduct” but qualified its finding by stating: “the same will not amount to ‘misbehaviour’ within the meaning of Article 124 (4) read with Article 217 of the Constitution of India.”

The panel held that the “transfer committee committed an irregularity on solely relying on the recommendation of district judge Kamal Singh Thakur and without making any verification or enquiring on the same, was not justified in transferring the complainant in mid-session. Equally unjustifiable was the rejection of her representations. Transfer of the complainant also does not seem to be in the interest of the administration and, in our view, it was punitive.”

Providing minor relief to the woman judge, the committee held: “in the interest of justice, the complainant has to be re-instated back in the service, in case, if the complainant intends to re-join the service.” Though the committee did not name any specific judge or official of the Madhya Pradesh High Court, it said in its findings that “so far as the Madhya Pradesh high court is concerned… the committee is of the view that there has been a total lack of human face in the transfer of the complainant.”[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row]

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Manipur: Congress hits back at BJP chief Nadda’s letter to Kharge

Ramesh emphasised that Nadda’s letter is replete with inaccuracies and reiterated that the people of Manipur long for normalcy, peace, and harmony.

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The Congress on Friday lashed out at BJP president JP Nadda’s accusations that the Opposition party was promoting a politically motivated narrative concerning the situation in Manipur.

The grand old party described Nadda’s letter to Congress chief Mallikarjun Kharge as a 4D exercise, which means denial, distortion, distraction, and defamation.

Nadda, responding to Kharge’s call for President Droupadi Murmu’s intervention and his claims of the Centre’s total failure in managing the crisis, claimed that the consequences of Congress’s “abject failure” in handling local issues in Manipur during its governance are still being felt today.

Responding to Nadda, Congress General Secretary for Communications Jairam Ramesh stated, “Congress President Kharge ji wrote to the President of India on Manipur. Apparently, to counter that letter, the BJP President has now written to the Congress President.”

Ramesh emphasised that Nadda’s letter is replete with inaccuracies and reiterated that the people of Manipur long for normalcy, peace, and harmony.

He noted that they are posed with four critical questions: When will the Prime Minister visit the state? How much longer will the Chief Minister remain in office despite lacking majority support? When will a full-time Governor be appointed? And when will the Union Home Minister be held accountable for his failures in Manipur?

Nadda expressed astonishment at the Congress’s ongoing efforts to sensationalize the situation in Manipur, pointing out that Kharge appeared to overlook the fact that his party’s past government had legitimized the illegal migration of foreign militants to India, during which former Home Minister P Chidambaram had signed relevant treaties.

On Tuesday, Kharge had written to President Murmu regarding the worsening conditions in Manipur, requesting her immediate intervention to ensure that the citizens of the state can live peacefully and with dignity.

In his two-page letter, Kharge accused both the Union and Manipur state governments of “completely failing” to restore peace and normalcy over the past 18 months, resulting in a loss of public confidence in their leadership.

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Rahul Gandhi is right, Gautam Adani should be arrested: RJD president Lalu Yadav

“Rahul Gandhi is right. Adani should be arrested,” said Prasad, who is an old ally of the Congress and a staunch opponent of the BJP, to which Adani is said to be close.

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RJD president Lalu Prasad Yadav on Friday spoke in support of Congress leader Rahul Gandhi’s demand for immediate arrest of Gautam Adani, after the Industrialist was charged in the US for alleged bribery and fraud.

Gandhi, the Leader of Opposition in the Lok Sabha, said on Thursday that Gautam Adani should be arrested immediately, and his protector Madhabi Puri Buch should be investigated

The former Congress chief claimed that the recent developments vindicate his long-standing allegations against Gautam Adani. He took a sharp dig at Prime Minister Narendra Modi and alleged that Modi is protecting Adani, and is also involved in corruption. 

Yadav, the former chief minister of Bihar, was responding to queries from journalists here about Gandhi’s statement on the previous day, in the backdrop of charges of bribery and fraud against the Adani group in the US.

“Rahul Gandhi is right. Adani should be arrested,” said Prasad, who is an old ally of the Congress and a staunch opponent of the BJP, to which Adani is said to be close.

The RJD supremo, who incidentally has been convicted in several fodder scam cases and is on bail, was also asked about prospects of the INDIA bloc, of which his party is a part, in Jharkhand, where the counting of votes for assembly polls is scheduled on Saturday.

Speaking to PTI, the ailing septuagenarian replied, “I would like to remain focused on my statement that Adani must be arrested. I am not worried much about a new government (in Jharkhand) where we are already in power.” Jharkhand witnessed a straight battle between the INDIA bloc and the BJP-led NDA, which included the JD(U) headed by Nitish Kumar, Prasad’s arch-rival and the current Chief Minister of Bihar.

Addressing a press conference on Thursday, Gandhi further said that Chief Ministers have been jailed for scams of Rs 10-15 crore, but Adani, who has committed a scam of Rs 2000 crore is walking free.

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Cash for votes row: BJP leader Vinod Tawde sends legal notice to Rahul Gandhi, Mallikarjun Kharge, asks them to apologise or face defamation

The BJP leader said the allegations against him were false, baseless and made with malafide intentions.

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Cash for votes row: BJP leader Vinod Tawde sends legal notice to Rahul Gandhi, Mallikarjun Kharge, asks them to apologise or face defamation

BJP leader Vinod Tawde, accused of distributing cash to influence voters, has sent a legal notice to Congress leaders Mallikarjun Kharge, Supriya Shrinate and Rahul Gandhi over the controversy. The BJP leader has demanded their apologies or face a Rs 100-crore defamation case.

Vinod Tawde’s legal notice came after regional party Bahujan Vikas Aghadi (BVA) leader Hitendra Thakur on Tuesday accused him of distributing Rs 5 crore at a hotel in Virar in Palghar district, 60 km from Mumbai, to woo voters.

In the legal notice, the BJP leader said the allegations against him were false, baseless and made with malafide intentions. He claimed that he demanded an apology from the three Congress leaders for their remarks against him in the cash-for-votes row or he would be forced to initiate criminal proceedings against them.

Just a few hours before the Assembly Elections, a video went viral on Tuesday showing BVA workers storming into the hotel in Palghar during a meeting between Vinod Tawde and Rajan Naik, the BJP candidate from the Nalasopara seat. The BVA workers alleged that Tawde was caught red-handed with Rs 5 crore cash.

In the viral video, the BVA workers were seen taking out bundles of cash from a bag, while Tawde was sitting at a distance. The BVA workers also took pictures and videos of him on their phones. Amid these allegations, BVA leaders said that Rs 5 crore cash was distributed, an election official on Tuesday said Rs 9.93 lakh cash was recovered from the hotel rooms.

However, Vinod Tawde denied the allegation, saying he was only providing guidance to party workers on poll procedures and said he was not stupid enough to distribute money at his opponent’s hotel. Speaking to the media, he said that the Vivanta Hotel is owned by the Thakurs, and he is not stupid to go to their hotel and distribute money there.

The Police registered two FIRs against Tawde, BJP candidate Naik and others in connection with the controversy. Additionally, the Election Commission filed three FIRs against Tawde.

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