File photo of President Ram Nath Kovind (l, front row) administering the oath of office to Shri Justice Ranjan Gogoi (2nd from r), as Chief Justice of India, at a swearing-in ceremony, at Rashtrapati Bhavan, in New Delhi, Oct. 03, 2018. (PIB)

The scandalizing news of Justice Ranjan Gogoi, the Chief Justice of India (CJI) involved in an alleged case of sexual harassment and consequent victimization by a female Supreme Court (SC) staffer has evoked shock and disbelief in India, a country that is currently in the throes of General Elections, to elect their representatives to the lower house of the Parliament, writes Priyanka Bhardwaj.

Adding a twist to the above is another set of declarations pertaining to a conspiracy to frame and de-seat the incumbent CJI and attempts at undermining the independence of the judiciary.

To begin with the day following the allegations of sexual misconduct erupted in prominent news-publications, a visibly pained CJI along with other senior judges of the SC conducted a suo motu hearing of the woman complainant’s allegations, terming them as false and baseless, a sinister plot to pressurize him to not hear cases, and also raising doubts on the antecedents of the complainant for in early March, a security guard from Jhajjar, Haryana, had filed a First Information Report against the woman for reneging on her promise of getting him a job in SC in lieu of half a lakh rupees and in which she is on bail.

However, this SC hearing drew the ire of the public and a large group of top women lawyers who while agreeing that the CJI had every right to present his side of the story, asserted that he should not have been a part of the bench to ensure impartiality of the judicial process.

In quick response an in-house, three-member panel headed by Justice S.A. Bobde and comprising of Justices N.V. Ramana and Indira Banerjee was thereby constituted, and this panel has already embarked on its task, one which lacks any time frame and deductions of the inquiries of which would be kept confidential to prevent public discussion and allow for the protection of judges by harmonizing free speech rights.

As much as the ex-party hearing of this bench came in for a strong criticism so did the organization of this bench and soon Justice Malhotra was appointed when Justice N.V. Ramana who recused himself from the panel “in keeping with the highest standards of judicial propriety and wisdom” even as the woman complainant also objected to his inclusion on grounds that he was a friend of Justice Gogoi and thereby obviating his inclusion, and also appealing for installation of a special enquiry committee of senior retired judges of SC as also inclusion of majority of women members in the panel as per the Vishakha guidelines.

As if these issues were not enough a rather sensational disclosure was made by a young lawyer, Utsav Bains, in his Facebook post of April 20th, wherein he stated, “I was “offered bribe to help frame CJI in the sexual harassment case by lawyering and organizing a Press Conference against the CJI for the Ex SC staffer who has accused the CJI of sexual harassment just a few days back and also specifically asked to organize a press conference only at the Press Club of India.”

Thereafter, as also in his detailed affidavits to the SC, he has asserted that there is a wider conspiracy at work, involving corrupt politicians, top corporates, disgruntled judges, and alleged fixers (he specifically named Romesh Sharma) who has ganged up with dismissed and discontented employees of the SC to hatch up a plot to frame and pressurize the CJI to resign under a false case of personal misconduct, and of which he has ample evidence.

Furthermore, he stated that as the whistleblower of the conspiracy aiming to curb the independence of the judiciary his life and reputation / credibility re under grave danger as the alleged fixers enjoy a close association with the dreaded globally wanted terror kingpin Dawood Ibrahim.

Taking serious cognizance of this claim the SC has appointed a former SC judge, Justice A.K. Patnaik, to vet out Bains’ claims and has directed the Central Bureau of Investigation, Delhi Police and Intelligence Bureau to assist Justice Patnaik at every stage and in all measures.

Justice Patnaik reveals that his investigations will commence once the in-house panel looking into the dismissed woman employee’s allegations completes its task.

Going through these issues one may recall the early 2018 press conference, by four senior SC judges, comprising the collegium at the time and that also included Justice Gogoi, where they raised questions on the functioning of the then CJI Dipak Misra in assigning cases to particular benches, and a Public Interest Litigation echoing the ‘bench fixing’ charge leveled by the judges and wanting for the constitution of the bench to be jointly exercised by five senior most judges.

Also, this is not the first instance when Bains has triggered a debate and claimed threat to his life and of having been offered a huge bribe to abandon the “right” side and align with the alleged perpetrators of the case.

The young dynamic lawyer, a third generation from a respected family of eminent legal luminaries, has attended a program on child advocacy rights in Harvard Law School, and has constantly worked, pro bono, for the under-privileged and marginalized in the Punjab and Haryana High Court.

His prominent cases include the 2012 Rohtak Apna Ghar, a child home, scandal, representing various witnesses in sexual exploitation cases against the self-styled, controversial but highly connected Asaram Bapu, and bringing to court witness of the rapes that took place during 2016 Jat agitation in Murthal.

Lately, yet again, he garnered media attention for refusing to be part of birthday celebrations of Queen Elizabeth II, as he cited a study that held the British Empire responsible for “the death of 3 million poorest of the poor Indians by denying them a morsel of food to survive and causing the 1943 Bengal Hunger Genocide”, thus setting off a flurry of rejection of invitation by other prominent invitees such as the Governor and Chief Minister of Punjab.

Now, the success of his legal career will be marked by the veracity of his disclosures and affidavits and the seriousness with which the legal world views the entire issue.

And that necessitates a dire need for objectivity and honesty in assigning the blame, and only after a conclusive investigation, for there is at stake not just the personal reputation of the CJI but the apex seat that he occupies as well as the Constitution that is the most sacrosanct text of the country, one which if compromised would impact the functioning of all organs of the government, mandated by the will of the citizens to deliver their rights, principles and security.

Therefore, it would not be gullible in any sense to accord due fairness in unraveling both issues as also the conclusions will lay precedents to counter similar charges and threats in future.