Cabinet nod on sending President Reference to Supreme Court in Ganguly Case

The Union Government on 2 January 2014 approved a proposal for sending a Presidential reference to Supreme Court for conducting a probe in judge AK Ganguly case. Retired apex court judge A K Ganguly is accused into an allegation of sexual harassment of a law intern.  

The proposal that has been approved by the Union Cabinet was laid by the Home Ministry to send a presidential reference to the Chief Justice of India.

Apart from the allegation of the sexual harassment of a law intern, Ganguly has been alleged for violation of Foreign Contribution Regulation Act (FCRA) in Pakistan. As per the Government of India, he was on a visit to Pakistan from 3 to 6 June 2013, where he was a guest of a Pakistani national and also stayed in his residence in Karachi.

This act of Ganguly has qualified him to violation of the FCRA as an Indian Public Servant. The FCRA Act mentions that a public servant of India should take permission from the home Ministry of the Government of India for a foreign hospitality. The allegation also mentions that Ganguly didn’t took the central government’s permission neither he took a permission of the Governor of West Bengal for his Pakistan Visit, as it is required under the Rule 6 of the West Bengal Human Rights Commission (WBHRC) Rules of which he was a Chairperson.  
Tickets of Ganguly for Pakistan was paid by a private organisation. As per the Home Ministry, he took a paid employment, while conducting arbitration proceedings for the All India Football Federation serving as the Chairman of WBHRC. This offence of Ganguly gives power to the President of India for his removal under Section 23(2) (b) of the Human Rights Act. Under the section, President can remove him directly from the post of WBHRC Chairman without sending a presidential reference to Supreme Court. The presidential reference to the Supreme Court for inquiry was necessitated under Section 23(1) of the same Act, by making other allegations of Ganguly to fall under the proven misbehavior.

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