The Supreme Court today (Thursday, April 25) set up a committee under Justice (retired) AK Patnaik to inquiry into advocate Utsav Bains’ allegations that there was a conspiracy to frame Chief Justice of India Ranjan Gogoi in sexual harassment case.
The bench of Justice Arun Mishra, Rohinton Fali Nariman and Sanjeev Khanna also directed CBI Director, Director of Intelligence Bureau and Delhi Police Commissioner to assist Justice Patnaik in the probe.
The court, however, clarified that Justice Patnaik will not go into the issue of sexual harassment allegations against the CJI. The court has instituted an in-house inquiry committee of three sitting judges to look into the allegations of sexual harassment made against Chief Justice of India.
“This inquiry only focuses on the contents of affidavit and what is alleged therein,” the bench stated.
The next hearing will be held after Justice Patnaik submits the inquiry report, the bench said.[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text css=”.vc_custom_1556195266657{border-top-width: 10px !important;border-right-width: 10px !important;border-bottom-width: 10px !important;border-left-width: 10px !important;padding-top: 10px !important;padding-right: 10px !important;padding-bottom: 10px !important;padding-left: 10px !important;background-color: #c1c1c1 !important;border-radius: 10px !important;}”]Meanwhile, Justice NV Ramana, who is part of the 3-member inquiry panel headed by Justice SA Bobde, has opted out of the panel, PTI quoted sources as saying.
The development comes a day after a former apex court woman employee, who levelled the allegations against the CJI, wrote a letter to the panel expressing reservation over the inclusion of Justice Ramana.
The woman was supposed to appear before the panel on Friday.In a letter to Justice Bobde, she also raised questions over the presence of only one woman apex court judge — Indira Banerjee — in the panel to examine her allegations against the CJI which is not in accordance with the Vishaka Guidelines.
“I would humbly suggest that since I was posted in the CJI’s residence office, I know that Justice Ramana is a close friend of the CJI and is like a family member to him. Justice Ramana is a frequent visitor to the residence of the CJI.
Because of this I fear that my affidavit and evidence will not receive an objective and fair hearing,” she wrote in the letter, according to PTI. The woman had also asked the panel to allow her to appear before it along with a lawyer and the proceedings of the committee be video recorded so that there can be no dispute about what transpired in the inquiry.[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text]In the pre-lunch hearing, the bench hit out at what it said were “systematic” attempts to influence the course of justice delivery and said, “time has come when we have to tell the rich and powerful of this country – you cannot run this court”.
The remarks were made by Justice Mishra at the end of an hour-long hearing into an affidavit filed by lawyer Utsav Singh Bains that claimed he has proof of a powerful lobby of fixers, disgruntled employees and corporate figures at work to frame CJI Ranjan Gogoi. Mr. Bains said he was approached by a person called ‘Ajay’, who enticed him with money. The man had claimed to be a relative of the former court staffer who has levelled sexual harassment allegation against the Chief Justice.
The special bench headed by Justice Arun Mishra said it is anguished with the way the judiciary has been treated for the past three-four years. “The way this institution is treated in last few years we must say that we will not survive if this will happen,” the SC bench said.
“Don’t think Supreme Court can be run by any remote power from any corner of the earth, whether by political power or economic power,” Justice Mishra fumed. “This is a systematic game…So many things have not come out…People of this country must know the truth. The Supreme Court cannot be run by money power or political power. When somebody tries to clean up the system, he is killed or maligned. This will stop,” Justice Mishra said.
The court asked Solicitor General Tushar Mehta not to interfere when he sought a special investigation team probe into Bains’ allegations.
“Leave it to us… We want to tell the rich and the powerful of this country that you cannot play with fire… That you are playing with fire when you play with this court… What do the powerful of this country think? That they can run this court?” Justice Mishra said.
Senior advocate Indira Jaising voiced her apprehensions about leaving the probe into Bains’ allegations to the government.
“Don’t provoke us anymore… This is your institution, not ours. We, judges, come and go. This is the court made by the likes of Fali Nariman, Nani Palkhiwala and K. Parasaran… But every other day we hear of bench-fixing, every day wrong practices are made in the court… Whenever we start hearing a big case, letters are written… Whenever big cases or big persons are involved, this happens in this court… People are trying to this court, its registry with money power… So many things are going on,” Justice Mishra retorted, according to a report by The Hindu.
As a stakeholder in and officer of the court, Jaising urged the Bench to “probe the credentials of this person [Utsav Bains]”. “My Lords have to see if he has come to the court with clean hands,” she said.
Jaising also voiced her concern about whether the probe into the ‘larger conspiracy’ would consume the allegations raised by the woman against the CJI. Her allegations were being examined separately by a committee of three apex court judges. “Your Lordships cannot investigate her defence,” she submitted.
Justice Mishra responded, “This Bench will not enquire into her allegations. Our job is to find out if somebody approached Utsav Bains to file a false case; whether they are two former Supreme employees or others; whether there are fixers involved; whether a conspiracy was hatched after bench-fixing attempt failed.”
Justice Mishra, however, added that if the allegations against the woman were proved, then she would seem to have no defence. “Mr. Bains does not know this Ajay… He may not be a brother of the woman complainant… We do not know what will come out of all this, but we will find out the truth,” he said.
Bains had filed an affidavit following the unprecedented hearing on Saturday during which Justice Gogoi had said some “bigger force” was behind the sexual harassment allegations as they wanted to “deactivate” the CJI’s office.
On April 20, CJI Gogoi had convened an “extraordinary” sitting of the court following reports about sexual harassment allegations levelled by a former woman staffer against him. He had then termed the charges as unbelievable and an attempt by a “bigger force to undermine the independence of the judiciary and deactivate the office of the CJI.”
After Haryana disappointment, Congress surprised by Samajwadi Party by-election snub
The Congress sought five of ten seats in the by-election, which the Samajwadi Party declined, pointing out to the parties respective performance in the 2024 Lok Sabha elections.
In yet another major jolt to Congress after the Haryana Assembly election injury, Akhilesh Yadav led Samajwadi Party in Uttar Pradesh, denied the grand old party’s seat-sharing request for the by-election to 10 Assembly seats. The Samajwadi Party is a key member of the INDIA bloc.
The Congress sought five of ten seats in the by-election, which the Samajwadi Party declined, noting parties respective performance in the 2024 Lok Sabha elections. The Samajwadi Party announced candidates for six of the 10 Uttar Pradesh assembly seats where by-polls are due later this year. The Election Commission is yet to declare the date.
Akhilesh Yadav led party has fielded Tej Pratap Yadav from Karhal, Naseem Solanki from the Sisamu seat, Mustafa Siddiqui from Phulpur (Prayagraj), and Ajit Prasad from Milkipur (Ayodhya), according to the party’s list issued on social media platform X. Shobhawai Verma and Jyodi Bind have been given party tickets from Katehari and Majhwan seats.
Reacting to the same, Samajwadi Party leader Ravidas Mehrotra slammed Congress, stating that they did not give a single seat to them in the Haryana election, but gave the entire state to BJP. He added that if Congress had an alliance with Samajwadi Party and Aam Aadmi Party (AAP), then the INDIA bloc would have been in power in the state. He asserted that they want to defeat BJP in the Uttar by-election, hence they have announced the list of 6 candidates. However, he clarified that his party is hopeful to form an alliance with Congress in the remaining 4 seats.
Expressing surprise over the sudden announcement by Samajwadi Party, UP Congress in-charge Avinash Pandey said that no information was given to them on this. He added that there has been no discussion with the coordination committee of the INDIA bloc yet. He mentioned that as far as the announcement of seats and contesting elections is concerned, whatever decision the Coordination Committee of INDIA alliance takes, it will be accepted by the Uttar Pradesh Congress Committee. He remarked that possibilities of alliance always remain till the end.
Meanwhile, the BJP in its third consecutive victory in Haryana, achieved its best performance, winning 48 seats, 11 more than the Congress.
The counting of votes for the Legislative Assembly election results in Haryana and Jammu and Kashmir concluded on Tuesday, with the Election Commission announcing the mandate for the state and the Union Territory. Prime Minister Narendra Modi hailed Haryana BJP workers for the state’s hat-trick win while appreciating the party Karyakartas’s industrious efforts in the Union Territory.
Addressing the party workers in New Delhi after securing a mandate in the Haryana Assembly elections, PM Modi said the party’s victory in the state was an outcome of the hard work of party workers.
“Today in Haryana the guarantee of development has outweighed the sequence of lies. The people of Haryana have created a new history. To date, 13 elections have been held in Haryana, but this is the first time that a government which has completed two terms of 5 years each has got a chance for the third consecutive time in Haryana,” PM Modi said.
आज हरियाणा में झूठ की घुट्टी पर विकास की गारंटी भारी पड़ी है।
हरियाणा की जनता ने नया इतिहास रच दिया है।
हरियाणा में अब तक 13 चुनाव हुए हैं, लेकिन पहली बार ऐसा हुआ है कि 5-5 साल के दो कार्यकाल पूरा करने वाली किसी सरकार को हरियाणा में लगातार तीसरी बार मौका मिला है।
The Congress and National Conference alliance won the Union Territory elections, while BJP surprised the Opposition with its victory in the state.
In Jammu and Kashmir, the National Conference got 42 seats, and Congress had 6 seats. BJP- 29 seats, 3 for PDP, Jammu & Kashmir People Conference, CPI(M) and Aam Aadmi Party won one seat each and Independent – 7 seats.
In Haryana, BJP crossed the majority with 48 seats, while Congress has won 37 seats, 2 for INLD and 3 seats have been won by independent candidates.
On winning the Haryana Assembly election, PM Modi extended his gratitude to the people of Haryana for giving a clear majority to the BJP once again. “This is the victory of the politics of development and good governance. I assure the people here that we will leave no stone unturned to fulfil their aspirations,” he said in a post on X.
Union Home Minister Amit Shah said the massive victory of BJP in Haryana was a victory of the unwavering faith of farmers, poor, backward classes, soldiers and youth in the PM Modi-led govt. “People of Haryana completely rejected negative and divisive politics of Congress which divides people based on caste and region,” he said in a post on X.
Haryana Chief Minister Nayab Singh Saini, after winning the Assembly elections, said, “This is a historic day, and we’ve received the love and respect of the people of Haryana. They’ve approved the policies of PM Modi and the double-engine government, and the work done by (former Haryana CM) Manohar Lal Khattar.”
The BJP, months before the Haryana Assembly elections, replaced its strongman Manohar Lal Khattar as Chief Minister with low-profile OBC leader Nayab Singh Saini. This decision surprised many. Today, the BJP’s gamble paid off as Saini led the party to victory in the state elections. This came after a poor showing in the Lok Sabha elections in the state and defied exit poll predictions of a clean sweep for the Congress.
People have given a mandate to the BJP in Haryana for a third consecutive term on PM Modi government’s policies, achievements and way of functioning, Union Minister Manohar Lal said on Tuesday.
Meanwhile, Congress rejected the Haryana assembly results and said it would move the Election Commission of India.
Former CM and senior Congress leader Bhupinder Singh Hooda said the results in Haryana are totally unexpected, completely surprising and counter-intuitive. “It goes against ground reality. It goes against what the people of Haryana had made their minds up for, which was for change and transformation. I think under these circumstances, it is not possible for us to accept the results that have been announced today,” he added.
The Prime Minister also complimented JKNC for their commendable performance in the Jammu and Kashmir Assembly elections.
“I am proud of the BJP’s performance in Jammu and Kashmir. I thank all those who have voted for our Party and placed their trust in us. I assure the people that we will keep working for the welfare of Jammu and Kashmir. I also appreciate the industrious efforts of our Karyakartas,” he said.
PM Modi said the elections in Jammu and Kashmir have been very special since it held for the first time after the removal of Articles 370 and 35(A) and witnessed a high turnout, thus showing the people’s belief in democracy. “I compliment each and every person of Jammu and Kashmir for this,” he added.
On Jammu and Kashmir Assembly election results, Shah said: “PM Modi had promised peaceful elections in J&K, which witnessed transparent polls for first time since advent of terrorism.” “I congratulate EC, J&K administration, security forces and people for successful and historic elections.”
“After 10 years the people have given their mandate to us. We pray to Allah that we meet their expectations,” said National Conference chief Farooq Abdullah after winning J&K in alliance with Congress.
He was hopefull that Opposition block INDIA alliance partners would fight along with his party to restore statehood in the UT. He said Omar Abdullah will become the Chief Minister in Jammu and Kashmir. “I am sad that they (Congress) have not won in Haryana. I think it happened due to their internal disputes,” he said on Congress performance in Haryana.
Former wrestler and Congress leader Vinesh Phogat on Tuesday won the Julana constituency, by a margin of 6015 votes, in the Haryana Legislative Assembly election. She defeated BJP candidate Yogesh Kumar.
Speaking to reporters after winning the Julana seats, she said: “This is the fight of every girl, every woman who chooses the path to fight. This is the victory of every struggle, of truth. I will maintain the love and trust that this country has given me.”
“Now that I have entered here, I will continue here. People have given me their love, I will have to work for them on ground. It is not possible to work on both simultaneously (politics and wrestling),” Phogat added.
On Congress trailing in the Haryana elections, Phogat requested to wait a little as the complete results have not yet come. “When we get the final certificate, results will be in our favour,” she said.
On her victory, wrestler Bajrang Punia congratulated the former Olympic wrestler and said the fight was not just for one Julana seat, it was not just with 3-4 other candidates, it was not just a fight between parties but the fight was against the strongest oppressive forces in the country.
“Many congratulations to the country’s daughter Vinesh Phogat for her victory. This fight was not just for one Julana seat, it was not just with 3-4 other candidates, it was not just a fight between parties. This fight was against the strongest oppressive forces in the country. And Vinesh emerged victorious,” he said in a post on X.
Meanwhile, BJP leader Brij Bhushan Sharan Singh, as the party appears set for a record third term in the state, said: “I would like to thank the people of Haryana. Many efforts were made to mislead the people of Haryana in the name of protests of farmers and wrestlers. However, people have praised the policies of BJP.”
Former Chief Minister and Congress candidate from Garhi Sampla-Kiloi, Bhupinder Singh Hooda, alleged that he has the inputs that counting is being stopped at several places. “We are getting the majority. This is a game, the ball is sometimes here, sometimes there but we will do the final goal,” he said.
“As per the input I have with me, we are touching the majority. Congress is getting the majority. There are several seats that we have won…but the same is yet to be updated,” the senior Congress leader said.
Responding to Congress leader Jairam Ramesh over his memorandum on the display of results on the EC website, the Commission said it unequivocally rejects the Congress’s attempt to surreptitiously give credence to irresponsible, unfounded and uncorroborated malafide narratives.
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