Sitting Supreme Court judge Ranjan Gogoi J. will replace retired apex court judge Vikramajit Sen as the head of the panel investigating charges of sexual harassment levelled against a Madhya Pradesh High Court judge, reports The Hindu..Vice-President of India and Chairman of the Rajya Sabha Hamid Ansari took the call to replace Justice Sen, amidst speculation as to whether he could continue to be on the panel after his retirement on December 31 last year..In an earlier interview with Bar & Bench, Justice Sen had that he conveyed to the Rajya Sabha Chairman that this position needed to be clarified..“My illustrious colleague on the panel, KK Venugopal is of the opinion that the selection on the panel is of a sitting judge, but it is not clear as to whether he continues after retirement.”.Attorney General Mukul Rohatgi had earlier given the green signal for Justice Sen to continue on the panel, as the Judges Inquiry Act, 1968 is silent on whether a judge can head the committee despite his retirement from the court. However, Ansari has now decided to appoint a sitting judge to head the panel..The other two members – Justice Manjula Chellur, Chief Justice of the Calcutta High Court, and Supreme Court Senior Advocate KK Venugopal – will continue to be on the panel..Image of Justice Gogoi taken from here.
Sitting Supreme Court judge Ranjan Gogoi J. will replace retired apex court judge Vikramajit Sen as the head of the panel investigating charges of sexual harassment levelled against a Madhya Pradesh High Court judge, reports The Hindu..Vice-President of India and Chairman of the Rajya Sabha Hamid Ansari took the call to replace Justice Sen, amidst speculation as to whether he could continue to be on the panel after his retirement on December 31 last year..In an earlier interview with Bar & Bench, Justice Sen had that he conveyed to the Rajya Sabha Chairman that this position needed to be clarified..“My illustrious colleague on the panel, KK Venugopal is of the opinion that the selection on the panel is of a sitting judge, but it is not clear as to whether he continues after retirement.”.Attorney General Mukul Rohatgi had earlier given the green signal for Justice Sen to continue on the panel, as the Judges Inquiry Act, 1968 is silent on whether a judge can head the committee despite his retirement from the court. However, Ansari has now decided to appoint a sitting judge to head the panel..The other two members – Justice Manjula Chellur, Chief Justice of the Calcutta High Court, and Supreme Court Senior Advocate KK Venugopal – will continue to be on the panel..Image of Justice Gogoi taken from here.