Gogoi complainant says won’t pursue matter, gets job back

THE ASSURANCE, IT IS LEARNT, WAS GIVEN AT THE INSISTENCE OF A TOP GOVERNMENT FUNCTIONARY

NEW DELHI: The former Supreme Court employee who levelled charges of sexual harassment against former Chief Justice of India (CJI) Ranjan Gogoi was reinstated by the apex court after she gave a written assurance that she would not pursue the matter, a person close to the complainant’s family revealed on condition of anonymity.

The assurance, this person added, was given at the insistence of a top government functionary.

Interestingly, the same functionary was also involved in the complainant’s decision to withdraw an appeal she filed against her termination on July 11, 2019 with the apex court’s registrar the very next day, Hindustan Times reported on August 1, 2019. The top functionary said “everything would be sorted out and they should not tarnish the image of the country by focussing attention on the case”, an aide to the complainant said then.

The complainant, however, had retained the right to re-file the appeal. Now she has “put it in writing that she will not pursue the complaint in any way”, the person cited in the first instance added.

The complainant, who was reinstated about a month ago, was being helped by two senior advocates, Vrinda Grover and Prashant Bhushan. “She was reinstated with retrospective effect with full wages,” Bhushan said. The reinstated employee is on maternity leave for a year, he added.

“The SC staffer stands vindicated. Her reinstatement with full back wages is an acknowledgment of the truth of her affidavit, complaining of sexual harassment and the systematic victimisation suffered by her and her family members. The unfinished business of justice and accountability, however remains,” Grover said in a statement.