The registrar general of the Bombay high court has transferred the session court judge who had been suspended for allegedly sexually harassing one of the woman court staff. He will now be at the small cause court in Dhobi-Talao.
An official in the sessions court said the transfer was only to facilitate a fair inquiry into the complaint. Though he has been transferred, the departmental inquiry into the complaint against him would continue, the official added.
"The new development in the case is that judge Gaikwad has been transferred to the small cause court. However, he will not be a presiding officer in that court. This transfer is only for practical purposes like giving him his salary. He will merely be shown as functioning from the small cause court," said the official on condition of anonymity.
He further claimed that the said transfer had been made taking into account the fact that the complainant was working in the sessions court.
"The complainant is working in the sessions court and this transfer has been ordered keeping her in perspective. It is also to avoid any kind of interference in the inquiry," said the official.
The Bombay high court suspended judge Gaikwad on August 14. Gaikwad, who used to preside over the NDPS court (special narcotic drug and psychotropic substance Act), was suspended after one of the court staff alleged that he had sexually harassed her.
After the victim filed the complaint, four more women staffers in the sessions court testified against him. Registrar general of Bombay high court Shalini Phansalkar-Joshi subsequently directed a sessions judge, SD Tulankar, to investigate the matter and report to her.
Shalini Phansalkar-Joshi who spoke to dna, said preliminary investigations into the case had revealed that there was some substance in the complaint registered against the judge and hence he had been suspended.
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