Kapil Sibal, Arun Jaitley speak out against Supreme Court for not acting against Justice Ganguly

NEW DELHI: Law Minister Kapil Sibal and BJP’s Arun Jaitley struck harmonious notes for once on Friday when they spoke out against the Supreme Court for not acting against former judge Ashok Kumar Ganguly despite a panel holding him prima facie guilty of making unwelcome advances against a former intern.

The Supreme Court cannot follow an escapist route and must ensure a fair probe against Ganguly, who should step down as chairman of West Bengal Human Rights Commission, Jaitley wrote in an article on Facebook. Sibal, who has been very critical of Ganguly’s 2G judgement, wondered why the top court had washed its hands off the matter.

While Ganguly refused to step down from the commission proclaiming his innocence, the National Commission for Women on Friday took suo motu cognisance of the matter and issued notices to Ganguly in connection with the allegations of the woman who was then an intern at the Supreme Court. Besides, Delhi Police — acting on a complaint by a former Delhi University professor, SN Singh — sent a mail to the former intern, asking her to record her statement. It is incumbent on the top court to ensure that the law takes its own course, Jaitley said. The top court has repeatedly said, “be you ever so high, the law is above you”, he said, adding that the court should apply the same yardstick to itself. “If the Supreme Court has found a former judge prima facie committed an offence, it cannot follow an escapist route and hold that on the administrative side it has no jurisdiction.

The Supreme Court is fully empowered on the judicial side to ensure that the law takes its own course. It cannot escape from its judicial responsibility,” Jaitley said.

Sibal wondered: “Why did they set up an inquiry if they knew he was a retired judge? Why did they wash their hands off the matter? It disappoints me….The Supreme court is so proactive when dealing

with ordinary citizens.” The law minister had earlier criticised the top court for alleged activism in areas that he said were traditionally the domain of the executive and the legislature. Sibal has been especially critical of the ruling in the 2G scam case and the court’s conclusion that spectrum was allocated at throwaway prices to ineligible parties, prompting it to cancel all licences awarded during former telecom minister A Raja’s time.

Jaitely said that he was of the view that the case should be placed before a bench of the court on the judicial side which must monitor the probe to ensure justice and fairness.