The Supreme Court Tuesday directed an advocate, who has claimed larger conspiracy to frame Chief Justice of India Ranjan Gogoi on allegations of sexual harassment, to appear before it tomorrow to support his stand with materials.
The apex court, which has constituted a special bench to hear the matter related to allegations of sexual harassment against the CJI after receiving the sworn affidavit of the advocate in this regard, issued notice to lawyer Utsav Singh Bains for his personal appearance on Wednesday.
A three-judge special bench comprising Justices Arun Mishra, Rohinton Fali Nariman and Deepak Gupta asked the Delhi Police Commissioner to provide "adequate police protection" to the lawyer while noting that he has expressed apprehension of threat to his safety.
Bains had filed an affidavit following the unprecedented hearing on Saturday during which Justice Gogoi had said that some "bigger force" was behind the controversy as they wanted to "deactivate" the CJI's office and he would not stoop too low even to deny these allegations.
The hearing on April 20 in the case, titled as a matter of "great public importance touching upon the independence of judiciary", was held after stories were published on some news portals about the sexual harassment allegations levelled by a former employee of the apex court against the CJI.
During the brief hearing on Tuesday, the bench asked at the outset, "Is advocate Utsav Singh Bains present in court?".
After finding he was not in the courtroom, the bench ordered, "Utsav Singh Bains, advocate, is not present today. Issue notice for personal presence of Utsav Singh Bains, advocate.
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"We also direct him to produce in this court the material in support of the averments made in Paragraph Nos.17 and 20 of the affidavit (filed by Bains)."
The bench further said: "Since the advocate has expressed apprehension of threat to his safety, we direct the Commissioner of Police, Delhi, to provide adequate police protection and also to ensure his presence in court tomorrow. List tomorrow i.e. on April 24 at 10.30 AM."
In his affidavit, Bains has claimed that he was offered Rs 1.5 crore by one Ajay to represent the former apex court woman employee and arrange a press conference against the CJI at the Press Club of India here.
In paragraph 17 of his affidavit, Bains has said: "On April 19, 2019, a very reliable person, strictly on the condition of anonymity and in good faith, informed the deponent (Bains) about a corporate figure who tried to approach a Supreme Court judge to get a favourable order in a high-profile case listed before this court but was unsuccessful.
"And then the said corporate figure attempted to get the case transferred from the court of that Supreme Court judge but did not succeed and thus ganged up with an alleged fixer...and his aides to frame the Chief Justice of India in a false case of sexual harassment to pressurize him to resign."
Similarly, in paragraph 20 of his affidavit, the lawyer has said he "is privy to certain events involving the said corporate figure and will submit in a sealed cover the events and list of the involved persons to this court should it so direct him".
However, he has not revealed his source of information in the affidavit.
Bains has said he was informed that after "targeting" the CJI, the Supreme Court judge will be the "next target of this gang of fixers and the above mentioned corporate figure", as the corporate figure incurred huge losses due to the verdict passed by the apex court judge.
In the affidavit, he has referred to the alleged links of these purported "fixers" with underworld don Dawood Ibrahim.
"The deponent (Bains) was informed by reliable sources that certain 'Fixers', who claim to be engaged in illegally managing judgements in exchange for cash are behind this plot as the CJI has taken decisive action to crack down on such fixers," the affidavit has claimed.
It further claimed, "But when the said Ajay further narrated the entire sequence of events and facts of the case, the deponent was not convinced and found several loopholes in the said Ajay's version of events."
The former woman apex court employee has described two incidents of alleged sexual harassment by Justice Gogoi in her affidavit, copies of which were sent to the residences of 22 top court judges, days after he was appointed CJI last October and her subsequent persecution.
The woman alleged that she was removed from service after she rebuffed his "sexual advances". She claimed that her husband and brother-in-law, both of whom were head constables, were suspended for a 2012 criminal case that had been mutually resolved.
She was later also made to prostrate before Gogoi's wife and made to rub her nose at her feet in the chief justice's residence, she alleged in her affidavit, adding that her disabled brother-in-law was removed from service at the Supreme Court.
The woman also alleged that she was detained at a police station along with her husband and other relatives and they were subjected to physical and verbal abuse in a case of cheating against her.
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