As pressure mounted on him to quit as the chief of West Bengal Human Rights Commission over a sexual assault allegation, former Supreme Court judge Ashok Kumar Ganguly on Tuesday said he was “undecided” on his future course of action.
“I have not decided. I am undecided,” Justice(retd) Ganguly said in Kolkata. “Time has not come to think about it,” he said when asked about his future course of action in the wake of demands for his resignation as the Chairman of WBHRC. Ganguly, who has been accused by a young law intern of sexually harassing her, at the same time received support like from eminent lawyer Soli Sorabjee and former Chief Justice of India Altamas Kabir amid a raging debate whether or not he should step down. He has strongly denied the charge.
BJP leader Sushma Swaraj joined the chorus of demands for the resignation of Ganguly, saying “not only Caesar’s wife but Caesar too must be above suspicion”. “I strongly feel that Justice AK Ganguly should resign as Chairperson of West Bengal Human Rights Commission,” the leader of the Opposition in lok Sabha said in a Twitter post.
Defending Sushma’s demand, BJP spokesman Shahnawaz Hussain said a lot of questions has been raised in the sexual assault allegation which was a challenge to the credibility of the judiciary. West Bengal’s ruling Trinamool Congress has already demanded that Ganguly quit office. “This is the first time such an allegation has been made against a former Supreme Court judge who is at present holding the post of WBHRC chairman. He should resign immediately,” said TMC MP Kalyan Bandopadhyay, who is also a senior lawyer.