JOIN USWest Bengal Human Rights Commission (WBHRC) Chairman Justice A K Ganguly is learnt to have submitted his resignation letter to Governor M K Narayanan on Monday. He met the governor at Raj Bhavan in the afternoon, leading to speculation over his resignation.
The retired Supreme Court judge was under pressure to quit for nearly two months after allegations surfaced that he had sexually harassed a law intern.
The speculation over his resignation came a day after former attorney general Soli Sorabjee told reporters that he spoke to Justice Ganguly over the phone on Sunday.
Ganguly had asked Sorabjee for advice. Sorabjee suggested that he should resign. The former attorney general also said Justice Ganguly would step down from his office soon.
While sources said Justice Ganguly met Narayanan at Raj Bhavan here and submitted his resignation, there was no confirmation from either the governor office or Justice Ganguly. However, quoting highly placed sources, PTI said Justice Ganguly resigned on Monday.
Sources said the letter would go from the governor to the chief minster’s office for approval, and then be sent to the governor.
The governor’s office would subsequently forward it to the President for the resignation to be finally accepted.
WBHRC officials were not aware of the developments. Justice Ganguly could not be reached on his phone despite repeated attempts.
A three-member panel appointed by the apex court had found the retired Supreme Court judge guilty of making sexual advances at a law intern.
Since the panel’s report became public in November 2013, Justice Ganguly has been under immense pressure from political parties as well as civil society organisations to quit. He, however, repeatedly refuted the allegations and resisted all pressure.