Rejecting sexual harassment charges CJI says “Judiciary under threat”

New Delhi: Chief Justice of India Ranjan Gogoi has denied allegations of sexual harassment against him and said the “judiciary is under threat” and that it can’t be made a “scapegoat”. A special bench of the Supreme Court heard the case Saturday after a woman, in an affidavit to several sitting judges, accused Chief Justice Gogoi of sexual harassment.
“I don’t want to stoop so low to answer these charges,” the Chief Justice said during the hearing. “This is the reward CJI gets after 20 years of service?” he said.
The special bench was formed after Solicitor General Tushar Mehta who mentioned before the Supreme Court official concerned the allegations of sexual harassment that have cropped up against the Chief Justice.
I have Rs 6.8 lakh in my account. My peon has more money that that… Is this a reward the Chief Justice gets after 20 years,” he asked.
The special bench refrained from passing any judicial order “at this stage” and said they “leave it to the discretion of the media to exercise restraint and act responsibly.”
The top court said further judicial orders will be passed at a later stage.
Supreme Court Secretary General Sanjeev Sudhakar Kalgaonkar said all the allegations made are malafide and have no basis. “No doubt, it is a malafide allegation and he said a hearing on it is going to take place right now,” he was quoted as saying in a media report..