Four women MPs walked out of Rajya Sabha on Monday protesting the maiden speech of nominated member Ranjan Gogoi, who had faced sexual harassment allegations during his stint as Chief Justice of India. The four women MPs who walked out of the Upper House in protest were Jaya Bachchan, Samajwadi Party; Priyanka Chaturvedi, Shiv Sena (UBT); Vandana Chavan, NCP; and Sushmita Dev, TMC.
In 2019, Gogoi faced charges of sexual misconduct from a former staffer in his office that brought back the spotlight on the #MeToo movement, in which women across the board spoke about episodes of sexual harassment at the workplace. Gogoi had denied allegations claiming it was an attempt by a bigger force to “deactivate the office of the Chief Justice of India because sensitive matters” were to be heard by the court.
“There is a bigger force behind this. They want to deactivate the office of the Chief Justice of India because I am hearing sensitive matters next week. Independence of judiciary is under very serious threat, it is pathetic,” said Gogoi during the hearing in April 2019.
The Supreme Court-appointed committee conducting an in-house inquiry into sexual harassment charges cleared Gogoi, finding “no substance" in the accusations levelled by a former employee in his office. Gogoi, however, faced criticism for constituting an emergency bench to hear the allegations against himself and later constituting an alternative bench that attacked the character of the complainant.
{{/usCountry}}The Supreme Court-appointed committee conducting an in-house inquiry into sexual harassment charges cleared Gogoi, finding “no substance" in the accusations levelled by a former employee in his office. Gogoi, however, faced criticism for constituting an emergency bench to hear the allegations against himself and later constituting an alternative bench that attacked the character of the complainant.
{{/usCountry}}On Monday, Gogoi for the first time participated in the discussion in Rajya Sabha where he supported the contentious Government of National Capital Territory of Delhi (Amendment) Bill, 2023.
“What is pending before the Supreme Court is the validity of the ordinance, and the two questions referred to the Constitution bench, and that has nothing to do with what is being debated in the House,” Gogoi said.
“The law doesn't appear to be arbitrary. In my respectful submission, the bill is perfectly valid,” he concluded.