Gwalior lawyers write to SCBA, says accused judge was not involved in transfer of the lady District Judge

Lawyers of the Gwalior Bench of Madhya Pradesh High Court (MP High Court) have written a letter to the Supreme Court Bar Association (SCBA) President PH Parekh seeking a reconsideration of the SCBA resolution demanding action against MP High Court judge Justice SK Gangele accused of sexual harassment of a District Judge of Gwalior. The letter, a copy of which is with Bar & Bench, states that the accused judge had no role, whatsoever, in the transfer of the woman judge..According to the letter, the transfer of the District judge was made “probably on administrative grounds” and was done on the basis of the recommendations made by a committee comprising two other judges – Justice Ajit Singh and Justice Ranjendra Menon..The letter states that,.“As per our information, High Court had received serious complaints about Madam [..] and other judicial officers. She was not the only judicial officer who was transferred from Gwalior, then District Judge Gwalior Mr. [….] and three other ADJs were also transferred along with other state cadre judicial officers.”.The letter further states that:.“We are saying this on our personal knowledge not on the basis of official record of High Court. Justice Gangele, had not written any letter or made any recommendation in regard to transfer of Madam [..] he was not at all involved in the whole process.”.According to the letter, after the transfer “the lady judge had contacted various persons for cancellation of her transfer order and she applied pressure tactics so she could get her choice posting.” She had also contacted Justice Gangele for cancellation of the transfer but he had refused because he had no say in the transfer..The MP lawyers have also alleged that she was taking advantage of the fact that she has “colleagues in Delhi” and she could make a hue and cry..“She knows that she practiced at Delhi. There is the Supreme Court and parliament and her colleagues so she can make a hue and cry. Exactly same has been happening, nobody has tried to investigate the matter. On emotional basis a large scale campaign has been going on.”.The letter also criticises Times of India for publishing the sexual harassment story without contacting the MP High Court or the accused judge..“In our opinion, the news was published in a well planned manner. All the reactions are based on the aforesaid news item”, says the letter..Stating that action should be taken against Justice Gangele only if found guilty, the letter concludes with the following prayer:.“In the given circumstances if any action be taken as demanded by you it would have disastrous consequences. There is no parallel example of any such action in the judicial history of world. Such type of punishments were awarded by Nazis to Jews during Hitler’s regime or in communist countries or at present in North Korea. We appeal to you with folded hands please reconsider it. Please do not impose your superiority it is synonymous to dictatorship.”.Earlier, activists and lawyers had called for strict action against the accused judge including initiation of impeachment proceedings.