A protest broke out outside the Supreme Court on Tuesday after an in-house panel of the top court cleared Chief Justice of India (CJI) Ranjan Gogoi of sexual harassment allegations on Monday.
Women lawyers and activists staged a protest outside the top court and raised slogans. Amid noisy scenes, several protesters were detained and taken away by police.
The Delhi Police imposed CrPC Section 144, which prohibits the gathering of any large group, outside the Supreme Court.
On Monday, a three-member inquiry committee of the top court gave clean chit to CJI Gogoi and said it "has found no substance" in the allegations of sexual harassment levelled against him by a former woman employee of the apex court.
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A notice by the office of Supreme Court Secretary-General said the report of the Committee, headed by Justice S A Bobde, "is not liable to be made public".
The Committee, also comprising two women judges of the apex court -- Justices Indu Malhotra and Indira Banerjee -- had on May 1 recorded the statement of the CJI who had appeared before it.
"The In-House Committee has found no substance in the allegations contained in the complaint dated April 19, 2019 of a former employee of the Supreme Court of India. Please take note that in case of Indira Jaising vs Supreme Court of India and Anr (2003), it has been held that the report of a committee constituted as a part of the In-House Procedure is not liable to be made public," the notice said.
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Reacting to the inquiry committee’s decision, the woman complainant said "gross injustice" has been done to her as a woman citizen of India and her "worst fears" have come true shattering all hope of justice and redress from the highest Court of the land.
The woman, who issued a press statement, said that she will consult her lawyer and decide on the next steps.
"Today, I am at the verge of losing faith in the capacity of our system to deliver justice to the weak and vulnerable who are pitted against the powerful within the system itself," she said, adding that the panel refused her plea to allow her to accompany a lawyer and video record the proceedings.
