A woman employee who had accused former chief justice of India Ranjan Gogoi of sexual misconduct was reinstated by the Supreme Court.
According to a report by Indian Express, the woman staffer had rejoined duty and proceeded on leave, adding "her arrears too have been cleared". Senior advocate Prashant Bhushan, who was part of her legal team, told The Wire that “She has been reinstated from the time she was terminated. She hasn’t, however, reported for work and proceeded on maternity leave immediately.”
On April 2019, the former woman SC staffer sent a letter, along with affidavits, to 22 apex court judges giving details of the alleged harassment. She claimed that as a junior court assistant, employed with the Supreme Court between May 1, 2014 and December 21, 2018, she was harassed at the CJI's home. She alleged that Gogoi had made unwelcome advances on her in October 2018, for which she was victimised after she resisted.
Later on May 7, 2019, Chief Justice of India Ranjan Gogoi got a clean chit from the Supreme Court’s In-House Inquiry Committee which “has found no substance” in the allegations of sexual harassment levelled against him by a former woman employee of the apex court. The 3-member Committee, which completed its task in 14 days, proceeded ex-parte as the woman had opted out of the inquiry on 30 April after participating for three days.
