SC reinstates woman staffer who accused Ranjan Gogoi of sexual misconduct

The Supreme Court has reinstated a woman employee who had in 2019 accused then chief justice of India Ranjan Gogoi of sexual misconduct, The Indian Express reported on Wednesday.

The Indian Express reported that the woman had rejoined duty and proceeded on leave, adding "her arrears too have been cleared".

The woman, a junior court assistant, had been dismissed from Supreme Court service in December 2018, four months after she was posted to work at the residence-office of Gogoi. The woman had joined the Supreme Court as an employee in May 2014 and was reported to be 35 years old in 2019.

She alleged that Gogoi had made unwelcome advances on her in October 2018, for which she was victimised after she resisted. Gogoi had taken over as chief justice of India that same month and would serve till his retirement in November 2019.

The woman had been dismissed from service on the grounds of questioning transfer orders issued to her and availing of leave without authorisation.

The woman sparked a media frenzy when a letter written by her to 22 judges of the Supreme Court in April 2019 went public. The letter contains allegations of how Gogoi groped her. The woman also alleged her husband and brother-in-law, both constables in the Delhi Police, were suspended after she was terminated from the Supreme Court. However, the two men rejoined the Delhi Police in June 2019.

Gogoi was cleared of the charges raised in the letter in May 2019 by an 'in-house' committee of Supreme Court justices comprising current Chief Justice of India S.A. Bobde and Justices N.V. Ramana and Indira Banerjee. The 'clean chit' to Gogoi triggered furious criticism of the Supreme Court.