Justice Ganguly quit call intensifies

Pressure is mounting on retired Supreme Court judge Justice A K Ganguly to quit as head of the West Bengal Human Rights Commission as he is facing charges of sexually harassing a law intern. But Ganguly, who shot into fame for delivering the 2G scam verdict, says he is “undecided” on the issue.

The BJP, however, appears to be divided on seeking his resignation. While senior leader Sushma Swaraj wrote on micro-blogging site Twitter that Justice Ganguly should resign from the post as mere suspicion is enough in such sensitive cases, Subramanian Swamy took a different position. He said, “Anyone can level allegations. Why should Justice Ganguly resign? There is no FIR. Justice Ganguly shouldn't resign on the basis of allegations.”

The BJP, however, ignored Swamy’s view and stressed that the observation of Swaraj, Leader of the Opposition in the Lok Sabha, is the stand of the party. “Sushmaji has stated the party position and Subramanian Swamy has raised only a legal argument that a person is innocent till proven guilty,” said Nirmala Sitharaman.

Trinamool MP, Kalyan Bandopadhyay, also demanded Justice Ganguly's resignation. Bandopadhyay is a noted advocate at the Calcutta High Court and holds significant sway over the city’s Bar Council. Thus, it seems his party would stand by his demand.

Demanding that the retired judge quit to top post of the state human rights commission, Bandopadhyay said, “This is the first time such an allegation has been made against a former Supreme Court judge. He should resign immediately.”

The retired judge, however, seemed unperturbed. “I am undecided. The time has not come to think about it,” he said.