Pressure mounts on Ganguly to quit WBHRC

Mamata, Union minister seek justice's resignation

A Union minister on Saturday said that it is better for retired Supreme Court judge A K Ganguly to resign as chairman of West Bengal Human Rights Commission on moral grounds and face the consequences.

Justice Ganguly has been indicted by a Supreme Court panel following a sexual harassment complaint by a law intern.

“The observations that has been made by the Supreme Court panel is ‘unwelcome behaviour’ (by the judge against the intern),” Union Minister Adhir Chowdhury said.

“However, in view of the ramifications of the incident, I think on moral grounds, it is better that Justice Ganguly should resign and face the consequences. I wish he comes out with flying colours,” Chowdhury said.

A Supreme Court committee of three judges had indicted Justice Ganguly for his ‘unwelcome behaviour’ and ‘conduct of sexual nature’ towards the intern. The intern has accused the judge of sexual harassment in a hotel room where he had called her, a charge stoutly denied by him.

Chowdhury also accused the Mamata Banerjee government of trying to ‘settle old scores’ with Justice Ganguly over the law intern case.

Justice Ganguly had initiated several suo motu probes including the arrest of Professor Ambikesh Mahapatra of Jadavpore University for circulating a cartoon of the chief minister on the internet, the arrest of a farmer who asked the chief minister a question at a rally and the Kamduni rape case and others.

“The Trinamool is now trying to settle old scores with him (Justice Ganguly) as he had made many recommendations which were not liked by this government,” Chowdhury, Union Minister of State for Railways, said.

“This is nothing new. This is the nature of this government that if anyone speaks against it then it will not tolerate it,” Chowdhury said.

Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee has twice written to President Pranab Mukherjee asking him to take appropriate action urgently against Justice Ganguly.

A Kolkata-based NGO has written to Delhi Police Commissioner B S Bassi requesting him to register an FIR against Justice Ganguly in the case of alleged sexual harassment of a law intern. “We call upon you to register an FIR in the matter. We are concerned that this being a high-profile case witnesses or victim can be influenced or coerced and evidences can be tampered with,” read the letter written to Delhi Police by NGO Bharat Bachao Sangathan here.