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Complainant moves Supreme Court in sexual harassment case against Bengal governor
West Bengal governor CV Ananda Bose allegedly called the complainant under the false pretext of offering her a better job and sexually harassed her at Raj Bhavan
A woman staff member of the West Bengal Raj Bhawan has petitioned the Supreme Court challenging the immunity granted to the governor under Article 361 of the Constitution, citing her allegations of sexual harassment against governor CV Ananda Bose.
The petitioner has urged the court to clarify whether acts of sexual harassment and molestation can be considered part of the governor’s official duties, thereby entitling him to immunity under Article 361. It sought to highlight the potential injustice faced by victims, questioning if they must wait for the governor to leave office before seeking justice.
“This court has to decide whether a victim like the petitioner can be rendered remediless, with the only option being to wait for the accused to demit his office, which delay will then be inexplainable during the trial, and render the entire procedure a mere lip service, without any justice to the victim herein,” the plea said.
The petition called for a thorough investigation by the West Bengal police and the establishment of guidelines regarding the immunity of governors under Article 361.
It contended that while a civil suit against a governor can be initiated after a two-month notice, no such provision exists for criminal proceedings, leaving victims without recourse. “The object of Article 361 cannot be to impair the power of the police in such situations.”
The plea maintained that the immunity provided by Article 361 should not be absolute, particularly in cases involving illegal acts or violations of fundamental rights.
“Such powers cannot be understood to be absolute so as to enable the Hon’ble Governor to do acts which are illegal or which strike at the root of Part III of the Constitution. Moreover, the said immunity cannot impair the police’s powers to investigate the offence or even naming the perpetrator in the complaint/FIR, despite specific averments to that effect,” the plea said.
According to the woman staff member’s complaint, Bose allegedly called her on April 24 and May 2 under the false pretext of offering her a better job only to sexually harass her within the premises of Raj Bhavan during working hours.
The plea highlighted the disparity in how the governor, while claiming to perform his official duties, dismisses the allegations as an “engineered narrative,” leaving the woman marginalised and stigmatised. The petitioner has also requested state protection and compensation for the trauma she has endured.
The development follows a May order by the Calcutta high court staying proceedings in a first information report against the Officer on Special Duty (OSD-II) to the governor. The OSD-II was accused of restraining and pressuring the victim to refrain from filing a sexual harassment complaint against the governor.
