I'm sorry to say this... but, just because a person is a judge, why do you have to deprive him of his constitutional rights... If you ask me, leaking the affidavit against Ganguly to the media was unethical." Not our words. Bellur Narayanaswamy Srikrishna's.
Breaking his silence on the controversy surrounding allegations of sexual harassment against two former judges, Justice Srikrishna told ET that sharing the affidavit was unethical because the Supreme Court had refused to give a copy of the affidavit to the judge concerned (Ganguly). "So, why should it be splashed across the front pages of newspapers... Obviously, it was intended for something else," said the former Supreme Court judge.
The apex court— rocked by a law intern's allegations of sexual harassment against one of its former judges, AK Ganguly—found itself grappling with a fresh controversy following last week's media reports of another intern accusing another former judge of inappropriate behaviour while he was in office.
Attacking what many perceive as trial by the media, Srikrishna said, "If the complain is against a sitting judge, then the complain should be made to the Chief Justice. Why do you leak it to the media? Is it because you don't trust the CJI? And, if the person is a retired judge, then the Supreme Court has no jurisdiction over him...here the person is like any other ordinary citizen." Both former judges have denied the allegations.
Breaking his silence on the controversy surrounding allegations of sexual harassment against two former judges, Justice Srikrishna told ET that sharing the affidavit was unethical because the Supreme Court had refused to give a copy of the affidavit to the judge concerned (Ganguly). "So, why should it be splashed across the front pages of newspapers... Obviously, it was intended for something else," said the former Supreme Court judge.
The apex court— rocked by a law intern's allegations of sexual harassment against one of its former judges, AK Ganguly—found itself grappling with a fresh controversy following last week's media reports of another intern accusing another former judge of inappropriate behaviour while he was in office.
Attacking what many perceive as trial by the media, Srikrishna said, "If the complain is against a sitting judge, then the complain should be made to the Chief Justice. Why do you leak it to the media? Is it because you don't trust the CJI? And, if the person is a retired judge, then the Supreme Court has no jurisdiction over him...here the person is like any other ordinary citizen." Both former judges have denied the allegations.
Srikrishna, who retired as Supreme Court judge in May 2006, has presided over several government constituted committees, the recent ones being the Financial Sector Legislative Reforms Commission and the panel that looked into the issue of a separate Telangana state. He is best known for heading the commission on the '92-93 Bombay riots.
Follow Procedures
"I'm not holding a brief...If you want to cross-examine him (the judge who has been accused), do it on the floor of the court. Why start talking about it in high decibel TV interviews?... If a lady is bold enough to go and talk to the media, why shouldn't she file an FIR? Police will investigate.
There is a procedure by which investigation has to be done, procedure by which accused has to be tried." "Just like a pickpocket or a robber, a judge too has constitutional rights. We give a full trial to a robber..."
Follow Procedures
"I'm not holding a brief...If you want to cross-examine him (the judge who has been accused), do it on the floor of the court. Why start talking about it in high decibel TV interviews?... If a lady is bold enough to go and talk to the media, why shouldn't she file an FIR? Police will investigate.
There is a procedure by which investigation has to be done, procedure by which accused has to be tried." "Just like a pickpocket or a robber, a judge too has constitutional rights. We give a full trial to a robber..."
Recalling his experiences as a Supreme Court judge, justice Srikrishna said that the present developments reminded him of Section 498A of the Indian penal code which was intended to end dowry deaths and bride burning. "But, now things have gone beyond that. As a sitting judge of the Supreme Court, I had come across cases where the lady was in Ahmedabad, one sister of her husband was in Australia, another sister was in Canada or something of that sort, and the lady would say they were harassing her ..
In a situation like this, he said, the attempt seemed to be to reverse the burden of proof. "So, you make an accusation against me and I have to prove that I'm innoocent... Frankly, legislation of this kind would mess up the whole issue... what is needed is increasing the level of perception and education. Today, the way women are looked at is very different from what it was 50 years ago and that did not come by way of any fancy legislations. It evolved over a period of time," said the 72-year old jurist.
In a situation like this, he said, the attempt seemed to be to reverse the burden of proof. "So, you make an accusation against me and I have to prove that I'm innoocent... Frankly, legislation of this kind would mess up the whole issue... what is needed is increasing the level of perception and education. Today, the way women are looked at is very different from what it was 50 years ago and that did not come by way of any fancy legislations. It evolved over a period of time," said the 72-year old jurist.
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