A day after allegations of sexual harassment were levelled against Chief Justice of India Ranjan Gogoi, Finance Minister Arun Jaitley on Sunday said that it was time to stand united with the judiciary.
In a Facebook blog titled “It is time to stand up with the judiciary”, Jaitley accused ‘institutional disrupters’ of destabilising the institution of Chief Justice of India (CJI) by lending shoulder to unverified allegations against the head of the apex court, and suggested that those who peddle falsehood should be dealt in an exemplary manner.
The Supreme Court even held an extraordinary hearing on Saturday after a former employee of the apex court accused the CJI of sexual harassment and persecution. The former employee has described two incidents of alleged molestation by Gogoi in her affidavit, both of which allegedly took place in October 2018, only days after he was appointed as the CJI.
Jaitley said: “In terms of personal decency, values, ethics and integrity, the present Chief Justice of India is extremely well regarded. Even when critics disagree with his judicial view, his value system has never been questioned. Lending shoulder to completely unverified allegations coming from a disgruntled person with a not-so-glorious track record is aiding the process of destabilisation of the institution of the Chief Justice of India.”
The minister further said that those who “peddle falsehood to destroy the institution are not dealt with in an exemplary manner, this trend will only accelerate.”
The incident of a junior ex-lady employee of the Supreme Court making harassment charges against the Chief Justice of India has acquired a disproportionate magnitude, Jaitley said.
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