Lawyers demand A K Ganguly's removal from the post of chairman of the rights panel

Lawyers and a retired judge on Tuesday took out a protest march to the West Bengal Human Rights Commission office here, demanding the removal of retired Supreme Court judge A K Ganguly from the post of chairman of the rights panel.

The march was taken out a day after Ganguly, facing allegations of sexual misconduct with a law intern, shot off an eight-page letter to Chief Justice of India P Sathasivam claiming there was a "concerted effort" to "tarnish his image" for having given judgements against "powerful quarters".

The marchers assembled on Mayo Road in central Kolkata and held a meeting where retired Gujarat high court judge S M Soni and International Council of Jurists president Adish Aggarwala were among the speakers.

All India Legal Aid Forum secretary Joydeep Mukherjee, one of the organisers, said if Ganguly continued to cling to his post, President Pranab Mukherjee should step in and remove him.