President forwards recommendation for AK Ganguly's removal to home ministry

The ball has been set rolling for the removal of retired Justice AK Ganguly from his post as Chairman of the West Bengal Human Right Commission (WBHRC) with President Pranab Mukherjee sending to the home ministry the reference he received from West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee for Ganguly’s removal.

The Press Secretary of the President, Venu Rajamony confirmed to ET that Banerjee’s letter to the President, which had asked for urgent action to remove Ganguly from his post, has now been sent to the home ministry. What could bring more trouble for Ganguly is that Delhi Police is also willing to file a First Information Report (FIR) against Ganguly if the Supreme Court (SC) forwards to it the affidavits filed by the law intern in which she has alleged that Ganguly made sexual advances towards her last December in a Delhi hotel room.

The WBHRC is governed by the Protection of Human Rights Act, 1993 and only the President has the power to remove the Chairperson and its members on ground of “proven misbehaviour or incapacity”. Under Section 23 of the Act, which deals with the resignation and removal of the Chairperson of the state human rights commission, the President has to make a reference to the SC to hold an inquiry to establish the ground for removal of Ganguly. This process could be prompted by the Centre’s advice to the President on the issue now.

The Protection of Human Rights Act says that once the SC, after proper inquiry as per procedure laid down, informs the President that the alleged act(s) committed by Ganguly amount to “misbehaviour”, the President can issue an order removing him from his post. A SC committee had already indicted Ganguly for “unwelcome behaviour” and “unwelcome conduct of sexual nature” but a fresh SC committee may need to go into the allegations again to complete the official process of removing Ganguly from his post at the WBHRC.