Former Supreme Court judge, Justice AKGanguly, is reported to have decided to resign as the chairman of the West Bengal Human Rights Commission (WBHRC), even as the Supreme Court on Monday rejected a public interest litigation (PIL) to restrain the government from taking any action against the former, media reports said.
The former supreme court judge is under pressure to resign after being accused of sexually harassing a law intern in December 2012 in a hotel in New Delhi, as well as for violating service terms and conditions associated with the WBHRC.
Media reports are claiming that Ganguly has written to former Attorney General Soli Sorabjee confirming his plan to quit as the WBHRC chief. Ganguly's decision to step down comes days after the Union Cabinet cleared the note for presidential reference against him.
If Ganguly quits as WBHRC chief, the presidential reference becomes infructous and invalid.. The PIL had also sought quashing of the report in which a three-member panel of apex court judges indicted Ganguly for unwelcome behaviour against the law intern, who has accused the judge of sexually harassing him in a Delhi hotel last year.
The petitioner claimed Ganguly was being maligned and was a victim of conspiracy as he had in an arbitration suspended Mohun Bagan for walking out of a football league match against the East Bengal club.
The All India Football Federation subsequently revoked Mohun Bagan's suspension but slapped a Rs 2 crore fine on it. The Supreme Court said that it had no intention to interefere in the matter.
Earlier, a three-judge committee looking into the allegations of sexual harassment levied by an intern on retired Justice Ganguly prima facie disclosed an "act of unwelcome behaviour" and "conduct of sexual nature" on the part of the retired judge.
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