Political parties of the country have different opinions over the resignation demand of former Supreme Court Justice, A. K. Ganguly over allegations that he sexually assaulted a law intern.
Leader of the opposition, Sushma Swaraj tweeted on Monday that Ganguly should resign from his post.
On the other hand BJP leader, Subramanian Swamy said Ganguly should not be asked to step down only on the basis of allegations.
"Justice Ganguly was one of the finest judges. Now, I am not in a position to say what happened because I was not there, but I do know one thing that all that has happened is the girl has made an allegation after 11. Unless it is converted into an FIR, or the Supreme Court appointed committee enquiry holds him prima facie guilty, I don't think you can ask a judge to be defamed on the basis of an allegation," said Swamy.
Communist Party of India (CPI) leader Muhammad Salim claimed that Swaraj was only calling for Ganguly's resignation, to garner the support of West Bengal chief minister, Mamata Banerjee.
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"Again with Subramanian Swamy also making this comment makes it clear that there is double speak within the BJP on this matter. And Subramanian Swamy from his legal background, from his constitutional background is making the legal point very clear and Sushma Swaraj from her eagerness to bring Mamata Banerjee to the fold of the NDA, is making the political statement, nothing more than that," added Salim.
Congress party leader Tariq Anwar expressed his support to Sushma's demand.
"I think Sushma Swaraj is correct in asking for the resignation of Justice Ganguly. Until the case is investigated and a decision taken, he should not hold any post," said Anwar.
Janata Dal United (JD-U) party leader Shivanad Tiwari said that the case should be taken very seriously.
"As per the Constitution everyone is equal before the law, even if it is a judge or a clerk in that same court, all are equal before the law. That is why in this case the treatment should be the same like for any other accused. Laws cannot differ from person to person and that's why I think this case should be taken very seriously," said Tiwari.
he intern's allegations created a media furor with female lawyers and activists calling for the country's top court to investigate the incident and for the accused judge to be named publicly.
The Supreme Court set up a three-judge panel, which heard testimonies from both James and Ganguly and submitted its report to the Chief Justice of India, P. Sathasivam, naming Ganguly as the accused.
It is the first time that the Supreme Court has set up an internal inquiry into sexual harassment allegations against a former judge.
