New Delhi:
A young woman has formally accused a retired Supreme Court judge of sexually harassing her while he was still in office.
The woman has told the Supreme Court that she was harassed while she interned for Justice Swatenter Kumar in 2011. Her case will be heard on Wednesday.
He is now Chairman of the National Green Tribunal, which acts as a fast-track court to handle cases about environmental protection and conservation. He reportedly skipped work at the tribunal today on health grounds.
The ex-judge has denied the charges and has sued newspapers who published the former intern's allegations against him.
Last week, Justice AK Ganguly, another former Supreme Court judge indicted of sexual harassment, stepped down as Chairman of the West Bengal Human Rights Commission. He had resisted giving up his post despite being indicted by a panel of serving Supreme court judges. (
read: Unfounded, baseless allegations, says Justice Ganguly in resignation letter)
Chief Justice of India P Sathasivam had said no action could be taken against him by the Supreme Court because the harassment took place after he had retried. The Supreme Court also said that it would not handle allegations against former judges because it has no administrative control over them.
That decision has been challenged by the woman who has filed the case against Justice Swatenter Kumar. She also wants the Supreme Court to set up a committee to examine her charges against him.