Sexual harassment allegations: SC seeks response from lawyer who claimed CJI was being framed

Tribune News Service
New Delhi, April 23

A day after an advocate made a sensational claim that there was a conspiracy to force Chief Justice of India Ranjan Gogoi to resign by "framing him" in a false case of sexual harassment, the Supreme Court on Tuesday issued him “notice for personal presence”.

A three-judge Bench of Justice Arun Mishra, Justice Rohinton F Nariman and Justice Deepak Gupta also directed advocate Utsav Singh Bains to produce before it the material in support of the allegations made in his affidavit.

“Since the advocate (Bains) has expressed apprehension of threat to his safety, we direct the Commissioner of Police, Delhi, to provide adequate police protection and also to ensure his presence in Court tomorrow,” the Bench ordered.

It posted the matter titled of "great public importance touching upon the independence of judiciary” for further hearing at 10.30 am on April 24.

Besides the conspiracy to force CJI Gogoi to resign by falsely implicating him in a sexual harassment case, Bains had also claimed that he was offered Rs 1.5 crore to represent a former top court woman employee and arrange a press conference against the CJI at the Press Club of India in the capital.

Amid raging controversy over unprecedented allegations of sexual harassment leveled by a dismissed Supreme Court employee against CJI Gogoi, Bains had in an affidavit said that certain “fixers” were behind the plot.

However, Bains did not disclose his source of information. "The Deponent will not share any names of the sources mentioned herein under any circumstances as these were Privileged Communications under the Advocates Act," he said in his affidavit.

Bains said he was shocked to hear the allegations and was willing to represent the complainant. "But when the said Ajay further narrated the entire sequence of events and facts of the case, the Deponent was not convinced and found several loopholes in the said Ajay's version of events," the affidavit said.

The lawyer then sought an interaction with the complainant to verify the claims, it said, adding that the meeting was denied, which gave rise to the suspicion.

"That, when the Deponent outright refused the said bribe of Rs 50 lakh offered by the said Ajay to frame the CJI, the said Ajay then increased the sum to Rs 1.5 crore to the Deponent following which the Deponent asked him to immediately leave his office," the affidavit said.

"The Deponent was informed by reliable sources that certain ‘Fixers', who claim to be engaged in illegally managing Judgments in exchange for cash are behind this plot as the CJI has taken decisive action to crack down on such fixers," the affidavit claimed.

Bains, who has been appearing in cases including for the victims and their kin in sexual harassment cases against jailed self-styled Godman Asaram and the witness protection matter, has also named some alleged "fixers" in his affidavit.