In the wake of allegations of sexual harassment by Supreme Court judges, noted jurist Fali Nariman has asked the Supreme Court to evolve some mechanism to ensure action is taken against judges who have since retired or joined any tribunal.
Noting this grey area in dealing with complaints of sexual harassment against judges of superior judiciary (High Courts and Supreme Court), Nariman gave a written note to the SC containing his views on the subject. He is the amicus curiae assisting the court on the issue of setting up a permanent mechanism to deal with such complaints. The occasion to consider this aspect arose in a petition filed by a former law intern who had complained of sexual harassment by a former SC judge.
The 45-page compilation stated, “Judges (howsoever high) are certainly not to be treated as immune from charges of sexual harassment of women at work place if and when such a charge is made and proved.”
So far as the judge involved is a sitting judge, an independent enquiry by the SC will be “inhibited” as the same would be dealt with under the Judges (Enquiry) Act. But for removal of the judge, there must be a continuous course of sexual harassment, which needs to be established. If the judge in question has retired and joined a tribunal, Nariman was of the view, “Some measures must be devised by the SC…for dealing with such complaints against retired judges holding office as Chairman or members of judicial tribunals and for remedies.”