SC holds special hearing on sexual harassment allegations of former SC employee against CJI

Agencies
April 20, 2019

New Delhi, Apr 20: The Supreme Court held an extraordinary hearing on Saturday after a former employee of the apex court accused Chief Justice of India Ranjan Gogoi of sexual harassment and persecution.

A three-judge bench headed by Justice Gogoi was constituted after a sworn affidavit by the woman copies of which were sent to the residences of 22 apex court judges became public on Saturday.

During the hearing in CJI's court No 1, an unfazed Justice Gogoi said the allegations are unbelievable.

"This is unbelievable. I don't think I should stoop low even to deny these allegation," he said, adding, "There has to be bigger force behind this, they want to deactivate the office of CJI."

The apex court registry in a notice earlier in the day said a three-bench headed by the CJI was being set up to deal with a "matter of great public importance touching upon the independence of judiciary". The bench also comprised justices Arun Mishra and Sanjiv Khanna.

The former employee has described two incidents of alleged molestation by Gogoi in her affidavit, both of which allegedly took place in October 2018, only days after he was appointed as the CJI.

Confirming that a letter by the woman has been received by several sitting judges.Supreme Court Secretary General Sanjeev Sudhakar Kalgaonkar said all the allegations made by the woman concerned are malafide and have no basis.

"No doubt, it is a malafide allegation," he said.

Stating that it was leaving it to the wisdom of media to act responsibly on allegations of sexual harassment against the CJI, the court said the independence of judiciary is under "very, very severe" threat.

"After 20 years of selfless service as judge, I have bank balance of Rs 6.80 lakh," he said.

"Nobody can catch me on money, people have to find something and they have found this: This is the reward CJI gets after 20 years of service," Justice Gogoi.

He made it clear that he will preside over the CJI court and discharge his judicial functions without any fear.

"I have taken this unusual and extraordinary step of sitting in court today because things have gone too far," he said.

Judiciary can't be made a scapegoat, says CJI Gogoi.

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News Network
April 9,2020

New Delhi, Apr 9: With an increase of 540 positive COVID-19 cases reported in the last 24 hours, India's tally of coronavirus cases has risen to 5,734, said the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare on Thursday.

Out of the 5,734 cases; 5,095 are active COVID-19 cases and 472 cases have been recovered/discharged and one case migrated.
The death toll has also risen to 166 after 17 new deaths were reported in the last 24 hours.

Maharashtra is the worst-hit state 1,135 positive cases so far and while Tamil Nadu is second with 738 positive cases. Delhi's tally has risen to 669 cases. 

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News Network
April 16,2020

New Delhi, Apr 16: The number of COVID-19 cases in India has reached 12,759, the Health Ministry said on Thursday.

According to the official data, India has 10,824 active cases and 1514 discharged and cured cases. Meanwhile, 420 people have died from the disease which originated in China.

Maharashtra has reported the highest number of cases in the country which stands at 2919, including 295 cured and discharged and 187 deaths.

With 1578 coronavirus cases, Delhi is in the second position of India's tally of corona infected people; followed by Tamil Nadu (1242) and Rajasthan (1023).

Kerala, which reported India's first coronavirus case, has 388 confirmed cases, including 295 cured and discharged and 187 deaths.

On the other hand, Uttar Pradesh and Haryana, that border the national capital, have 773 and 205 cases, respectively.

Chhattisgarh, Chandigarh and Pudducherry have reported 33, 21 and 7 cases respectively. While West Bengal has 231 coronavirus infected people, Odisha has confirmed 60 cases.

The newly carved union territories -- Ladakh and Jammu and Kashmir--- have 17 and 300 cases, respectively.

In the Northeast, 33 people were detected positive for COVID-19 in Assam, which is the worst-affected states in the region. Six corona cases were confirmed from Meghalaya, two each from Manipur and Tripura and one from Arunachal Pradesh. Nagaland remains free from coronavirus till date, said the Ministry.

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News Network
April 11,2020

New Delhi, Apr 11: Congress leader Rahul Gandhi on hailed accredited social health activists, auxiliary nurse and midwives and anganwadi workers for their role in the fight against the coronavirus pandemic, saying they are "true patriots" who toil to keep communities safe in the midst of this grave crisis.

In an environment where fear and misinformation pose a bigger danger than the virus itself, community workers have a key role to play in educating people about the dangers of COVID-19 and the manner in which it is transmitted, Gandhi said.

In a message for Accredited Social Health Activists (ASHA), Auxiliary Nurse and Midwives (ANMs) and Anganwadi Workers, he said they are working with dedication and courage, putting their lives at risk, on the frontlines of the battle against the COVID-19 pandemic.

"The greatest form of patriotism is to serve our country in her hour of need. Our community workers are true patriots, our unsung heroes, who toil tirelessly away from the limelight, to keep our communities safe in the midst of this grave crisis," the former Congress chief said.

"As a nation, we owe them and their families a huge debt of gratitude for the tremendous personal sacrifices each of them is making. I hope that when this crisis is over their exemplary service will serve as a catalyst for deep-rooted change in their conditions of work," he said.

Gandhi said he salutes each and every community worker for their service to the nation and prays that they and their families will remain safe during this pandemic.

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