To
Smt. Droupadi Murmu
Hon’ble President of India
Respected Rashtrapati Ji,
I refer to a complaint made against the West Bengal Governor Shri C V Ananda Bose by a lady staffer at the Raj Bhavan and the manner in which the Governor’s secretariat has responded to the complaint, as reported at https://indianexpress.com/article/cities/kolkata/bengal-governor-ananda-bose-molestation-charge-as-raj-bhavan-makes-cctv-footage-public-woman-says-identity-shown-9319290/),
I have extracted below a portion of the above cited news report:
“days after a woman contractual staffer at Raj Bhavan in Kolkata accused West Bengal Governor C V Ananda Bose of molesting her, the Raj Bhavan on Thursday showed CCTV footage of the premises from May 2 — the day of the alleged incident — to around 100 people.
The woman, in response, said, ‘The footage was released without my permission. The law of the land says that the identity of the complainant should be kept confidential. He (Governor Bose) should be charged for this too. If he is innocent, why is he not letting the police conduct an investigation? I will speak to the police about this’
Following the woman’s complaint, the Governor had banned the entry of police into Raj Bhavan premises “ under the guise of conducting unauthorised, illegitimate, sham and motivated ‘investigation’ to placate political bosses during elections”. Constitutional immunity bars the police from naming the Governor as an accused or investigating the case“
Without implying any aspersion whatsoever on Shri Bose, I wish to point out that the IPC, the CrPC (and the corresponding provisions of Bharatiya Nyay Samhita) and the other relevant laws prescribe an elaborate procedure for investigating such complaints. During the investigation, it is imperative that the identity of the complainant remains undisclosed.
While the present incumbent of the office of the Governor may be entitled to immunity, it is equally important to ensure that such immunity does not deprive a lady complainant of her right to get justice, in accordance with the procedure laid down in the relevant legislation.
If an investigation, if any, were to proceed unhindered, it would be necessary to shift Shri Bose from West Bengal so as to allow it to be conducted in an impartial manner. Preferably, such an investigation should be conducted under judicial oversight, so that it may not be subject to pressure from either the Centre or the State government, considering the present situation in West Bengal.
It appears highly inappropriate for the Raj Bhavan to present the CCTV footage to the press, considering that the office of the Governor has a Constitutional status and the Governor is expected to discharge his responsibilities with dignity and decorum.
The developments that have taken place so far in this matter have hurt the credibility of the office of the Governor to the detriment of the public interest.
I appeal to you to intervene urgently before any further erosion of the credibility of the office of the Governor takes place.
Respectfully,
E A S Sarma
Former Secretary to the Government of India
Visakhapatnam
