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Former chief justice of India Altamas Kabir yesterday said he was shocked at the allegations of sexual assault against retired judge Ashok Kumar Ganguly, and that he found it hard to believe that “this is possible.”
The former CJI, however, said he would wait and watch how things played out.
“I know Ashok for a long time, he has been a member of the judiciary here... we have practised together. I never ever had any kind of... say... the allegations which have been made... never ever would believe that this is possible... let’s put it that way,” Kabir said.
Ganguly, now chairman of the West Bengal Human Rights Commission, was identified in a report as the judge against whom a young lawyer intern levelled charges of sexual harassment.
“Allegations will always be made. These will have to be sustained... the more these things happen the more things do tend to go out of hand. Allegations can be made against anybody anywhere,?” Kabir said.
“The higher a person climbs, the more that person is subjected to accusations.”
The report, submitted to Chief Justice P Sathasivam, also carries the statements of the victim and of Ganguly, sources said.
She had first alleged sexual harassment on November 6, in a blog for Journal of Indian Law and Society. Subsequently, she repeated the allegation in an interview to Legally India website.
The young lawyer, who is at present working with the organisation Natural Justice: Lawyers for Communities and Environment, said besides herself she has heard that three other girls too were sexually harassed by the same judge.
Kabir cautioned against the “cascading effect” of such serious accusations.
“These are things which will cascade and have a cascading effect... it is better to see how things work out.”
On Friday, Ganguly, 66, said he had been “shocked and shattered” by the allegation made by the 22-year-old law student.
In comments to NDTV news channel, Ganguly said he had worked with several interns in his life and that he treated them “like my children.”
Ganguly retired as a Supreme Court judge in February 2012.
Kavita Krishnan of the All India Progressive Women Association, called for stern action against anybody abusing their position to seek sexual favours.
Powerful people “know the odds are stacked against complainants. A woman has a huge lot to lose in such cases. She stands to lose her job, her peace of mind, privacy - everything is at stake for her,” she said.
“The predators bank on a culture of silence, thinking they can get away with anything,” she said.