Law intern harassment case: Mamata Banerjee's party calls for Justice Ganguly's resignation, NGO files complaint

Kolkata: Pressure on Justice AK Ganguly to resign as chairman of the West Bengal Human Rights Commission mounted today with the ruling Trinamool Congress issuing a statement saying public propriety and decency demand it.

There is no love lost between Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee and Justice Ganguly. But the Trinamool Congress took its time to finally issue its statement. (Read full statement)

"The Trinamool Congress has followed an approach of zero tolerance when it comes to safety and dignity of women in the workplace and the toxic phenomenon of sexual harassment," party MP Derek O'Brien said.

"It would be wholly incumbent upon Justice Ganguly to step down from his position as chair of the West Bengal Human Rights Commission or WBHRC and restore the sanctity of the office he currently holds. Public propriety and a sense of decency demand this. I therefore urge Justice Ganguly to resign," he demanded.

Appointed chairman in March 2012, Justice Ganguly upset the Chief Minister by ordering compensation to a professor arrested for emailing a Mamata cartoon, the farmer she called a Maoist and the family of an SFI leader who died in police custody.

Meanwhile, an NGO filed a sexual harassment complaint with the Kolkata Police demanding action against the former Supreme Court judge. The police are yet to register an FIR.

Vivek Ruia, president of the Bharat Bachao Sangathan, today arrived at the Hare Street Police Station and said they had emailed the Kolkata Police Commissioner on December 2 demanding action against Justice Ganguly. On December 3, someone from the police headquarters at Lalbazar called the NGO and said the email cannot be treated as an FIR and that they should file a written complaint.

After spending an hour at the police station, Mr Ruia emerged to say, "The police received our complaint. Now it entirely depends on whether they convert this complaint into an FIR or not. We will wait for some time and if the FIR is not registered, we might think of filing an FIR in the court."

Last week, the Supreme Court confirmed that Justice Ganguly was the un-named judge who a young woman lawyer had blogged about in November, accusing him of sexually harassing her in a hotel room last December. He retired from the Supreme Court in February.

Justice Ganguly attended office as usual today, but pressure on him to quit is mounting now.