Supreme Court denies report that 2 judges met Justice Bobde on inquiry into allegations against CJI

The Supreme Court on Sunday denied media reports that said two senior judges RF Nariman and DY Chandrachud met Justice SA Bobde who is heading an in-house committee inquiring into the sexual harassment allegations against Chief Justice of India Ranjan Gogoi. “This is wholly incorrect that the two judges met justice Bobde on Friday evening,” a statement from the top court said.

Further the statement said that the in-house committee which is deliberating on the issue concerning the CJI deliberates on its own without any input from any other judge of the apex court.

Earlier, there were media reports that the judges of the Supreme Court Justice Chandrachud and Justice Nariman have asked the in-house panel probing sexual harassment allegations against Chief Justice of India Ranjan Gogoi to not proceed without the presence of petitioner. “Justice Chandrachud, accompanied by Justice Rohintan Nariman, met the inquiry panel comprising Justices S A Bobde, Indu Malhotra and Indira Banerjee on Friday evening. It is believed that the two judges discussed their concerns about the ongoing probe with the panel,” according to the Indian Express.

Justice Chandrachud is in line to be the Chief Justice for two years, from 2022 to 2024 and Justice Nariman is at present a member of the Collegium.

In her affidavit, the woman described two incidents of alleged harassment, days after Justice Gogoi was appointed CJI last October and her subsequent persecution.

The woman alleged that she was removed from service after she rebuffed his "sexual advances". She claimed that her husband and brother-in-law, both of whom were head constables of Delhi Police, were suspended for a 2012 criminal case that had been mutually resolved.