File photo: Justice AK Ganguly
A day after Justice AK Ganguly said he is "undecided" about whether to resign over sexual harassment allegations, West Bengal's ruling party, the Trinamool Congress has said that he must step down immediately as Chairman of the state's Human Rights Commission.
Trinamool leader Derek O'Brien said "public propriety and a sense of decency" make it incumbent for Justice Ganguly to resign now.
"It is for those in senior positions in public life to act as role models not just in upholding standards of conduct with female colleagues but also in responding expeditiously and with sensitivity when they themselves face charges of this nature," a statement from Mr O'Brien said.
(Read full statement)However, Justice Ganguly's supporters point out his relationship with the Trinamool and Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee has been a fractious one. He has censured the government repeatedly for arresting people who criticised Ms Banerjee. In the case of a professor who was arrested for emailing a cartoon about her, Justice Ganguly ordered the government to pay Rs 50,000 as compensation.
"If this goes on, we will be heading towards a totalitarian regime and this commission cannot be a mute spectator to such a sordid situation," the Human Rights Commission, headed by Justice Ganguly, had said.
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.
He told NDTV in an interview last week that he is "shattered and disturbed" by the allegations.
Three serving Supreme Court judges have heard his account, as well as that of the woman lawyer, and have given their report to P Sathasivam, the Chief Justice of India.