President Ram Nath Kovind should take cognisance on his own of the allegations of sexual harassment levelled by a former Supreme Court employee against Chief Justice of India Ranjan Gogoi, a women's organisation said on Monday.
Delhi's 'Pragatisheel Mahila Sangathan', which staged a protest outside the apex court premises, said that the "President should also direct the second in command of judges in the hierarchy of judges of the Supreme Court to get the whole episode, as stated by the complainant, investigated in an impartial and time bound manner".
In a statement, it said: "We as a country must stand up for the protection of life and liberty of the complainant and her family members."
It said the issue of independence of judiciary, raised by the CJI during the Saturday's hearing by a special bench, was important but that cannot be mixed up with the need to fairly verify the veracity of the complaint.
"The higher-ups including the CJI, the police, the Home Minister all have contributed and ganged up to throttle the complainant," it claimed.
It also criticised the Bar Council of India saying that even without hearing the complainant or asking for an enquiry, the apex bar body has declared that the allegations are 'false and cooked up'.
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