Supreme Court staffer who accused Ex-CJI Ranjan Gogoi of sexual harassment was on list of potential Pegasus surveillance targets

Three mobile phone numbers belonging to the Supreme Court staffer, who accused former Chief Justice of India (CJI), Ranjan Gogoi of sexual harassment, were selected as potential targets for surveillance using Pegasus software, news portal The Wire reported.

. As per the report, eight other phone numbers associated with staffer's family members were also marked as targets for surveillance when the allegations against Justice Gogoi surfaced in April 2019.

Israel based spyware firm NSO is best known for its Pegasus spyware, which it claims is sold only to “vetted governments” and not to private entities, though the company does not reveal which governments it sells the controversial product to.

. The Wire report said that in response to a detailed query sent to the Prime Ministers’ Office by members of the Pegasus Project, the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology (MEITY) described the allegation of an association “between the Government of India and Pegasus” as “malicious”.

“The allegations regarding government surveillance on specific people has no concrete basis or truth associated with it whatsoever,” it added.

. The Supreme Court staffer was dismissed from service in December 2018, weeks after she allegedly rebuffed the judge’s advances.

Later four web portals reported about the sexual harassment allegations following which a Special Bench of the Supreme Court was convened on the same day by CJI Gogoi to look into the matter. The case was titled "In Re matter of grave public importance touching upon the independence of the judiciary."

Subsequently, an in-House Special Panel of Judges was also constituted to look into the sexual harassment allegations against CJI Gogoi. This panel initially comprised of Justices SA Bobde, NV Ramana and Justice Indira Banerjee .

However, after the complainant raised concerns regarding Justice NV Ramana’s presence in the panel, Justice Ramana recused from the panel. In a letter penned by the complainant, it was stated that the close relationship shared by Justice Ramana with CJI Gogoi might not allow for an objective hearing of her side. Justice Indu Malhotra replaced Justice Ramana on the panel.

This panel eventually concluded that there was no substance in the sexual harassment allegations levelled by the staffer after four days of sitting.

However, the woman complainant withdrew from the proceedings on the third day on apprehensions that the inquiry was not being conducted fairly. In a letter explaining her reasons, she stated , inter alia , that she was not being allowed to be accompanied by a lawyer or a support person and that no video recording of the proceedings was being made.

. Interestingly, the staffer was later reinstated in service during the tenure of CJI SA Bobde.

Supreme Court staffer who accused Ex-CJI Ranjan Gogoi of sexual harassment was on list of potential Pegasus surveillance targets

Bar & Bench

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