Sex abuse case: MPs seek impeachment of MP high court judge
New Delhi:
TIMES NEWS NETWORK
 sexual harassment

In what could herald the process of impeachment of Madhya Pradesh High Court judge Justice S K Gangele, 58 Rajya Sabha MPs have signed a petition seeking his impeachment and submitted it to chairperson Hamid Ansari.Sources said members across party lines, including senior advocate KTS Tulsi, Digvijay Singh, Sitaram Yechury and P Rajeeve, signed the petition. Justice Gangele has been accused of sexual harassment by a woman additional district and sessions judge in Gwalior who has since resigned.Sources said JD(U)’s Sharad Yadav was the prime mover behind the petition.

The petition will be forwarded by Ansari to a committee to be headed by an eminent jurist, which will include a high court judge and a representative of the Chief Justice of India.

The petition for impeachment comes in the wake of the CJI setting up a three-judge committee for a “deeper probe“ into the sexual harassment complaint. But in case the process of impeachment begins in Rajya Sabha, the committee set up by the CJI will become dysfunctional. As of now, the CJI’s committee will comprise two chief justices of high courts and a high court judge. On Monday , TOI was the first to report about the committee and that it shall hold inquiry into the allegations contained in the complaint. “The inquiry shall be in the nature of a fact-finding inquiry , wherein the judge concerned would be entitled to appear and have his say ,“ Supreme Court registry sources had told TOI.

In 2011, Calcutta HC judge Justice Soumitra Sen was impeached in Rajya Sabha but he resigned before it could be taken up in Lok Sabha.

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