Former Chief Justice of India Ranjan Gogoi has penned his autobiography, and the much-anticipated book, to be launched on December eight, is already generating immense interest concerning what revelations Gogoi has made about the controversial parts of his stint at the helm of the judiciary.
The book, titled 'Justice for the Judge – An Autobiography' and brought out by Rupa Publications, will be released at a function in the national capital on the evening of December eight, and his brother judge in the Supreme Court, former CJI S A Bobde, will release it.
There is already immense speculation about what details Gogoi has spelt out in the book about the controversies that surrounded his term as CJI and the cases that were decided during his stint at the helm, including the Rafale case and the Ramjanmabhoomi-Babri Masjid matter.
There is also interest regarding Gogoi's side of the story about the allegations of sexual harassment that were levelled against him by a woman employee of the court posted in his office.
A junior court assistant had written a letter to all Supreme Court judges to complain about alleged sexual harassment by Gogoi. While he received a clean chit in the matter by a three-judge panel headed by Justice Bobde, there was criticism of how the apex court dealt with the issue.
It will be interesting to learn what the former CJI has written about the unprecedented judges' press conference of January 2019 of which he too was a part.
Gogoi had also found himself at the centre of a controversy over the Narendra Modi government's decision to nominate him to the Rajya Sabha, the move widely described as an assault on the independence of the judiciary, and he may have chosen to weigh in on this issue.
The book's title 'Justice for the Judge' has led people to believe that Gogoi has attempted putting across his version concerning the controversies that he faced and for his legacy to be seen more kindly. The announcement of the book has led to a spree of reactions on the social media space, with references being made to some of the controversies.
