Register FIR against AK Ganguly suo motu after panel indictment: Lawyers

NEW DELHI: The indictment of former Supreme Court judge A K Ganguly by an apex court panel of judges prompted a section of the legal fraternity today to demand that police register an FIR suo motu against him immediately since there was" sufficient ground" now.

"There is sufficient ground now to register an FIR," Additional Solicitor General Indira Jaising said and added that "the police can act by lodging an FIR immediately on its own."

"It is not required that the intern should walk in any police station and record her statement or the Supreme Court should forward the report to the police," she said. She also described as "untenable" the position of Ganguly as Chairman of the West Bengal Human Rights Commission(WBHRC).

Senior lawyer Pinaki Mishra called the conclusion by the three-judge committee as a "savage indictment".

Senior advocate K T S Tulsi, however, differed with those demanding suo motu filing of FIR by the police.

"We don't know the full report. The girl is not under disability and if she does not support the prosecution, the police will look foolish," he said.

Sharing Tulsi's view, senior advocate K K Venugopal said, "There has to be a complaint from the complainant. The police cannot register a case suo-motu. The judge in question is also denying the allegations. The Supreme Court has rightly said that it has no jurisdiction over the matter."

Former Law Minister and senior advocate Ram Jethmalani took a view that this matter should now be treated as a closed chapter.