The sexual harassment complaint against Chief Justice of India Ranjan Gogoi by a woman who once worked in his office is about much more than an individual accusing an individual. Given that it names the chief of the highest court, an institution fundamental to the health of the nation’s democracy, the complaint tests the integrity of the entire institution. More so at a time of delicate — and sometimes indelicate — balancing of powers between the executive and unelected supervisory institutions. In January last year, it was Justice Gogoi who risked his elevation to the highest judicial office by joining three of his colleagues in the collegium — at a press conference — to caution the nation against attempts to undermine the independence of the judiciary. The jury is still out on how that unprecedented airing of an internal dispute affected the institution but one thing is clear. Since then, a lot more of the Supreme Court has been in public glare than ever, there is, often, a frenetic rush to judge judicial independence through the prism of politics. Into this swirl, drops the sexual harassment complaint.
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That’s why how the court responds to the complaint will test its institutional integrity and resolve. The Supreme Court is its history, its tradition, its verdicts, its formulation of Constitutional morality, it is also its Chief Justice and the 26 Justices of the Court, they shape its future, fortify it against any attack. So, over to Their Lordships.
This first appeared in print under the headline: Your Honour
