Chief Justice Ranjan Gogoi strongly denies sexual harassment allegation

New Delhi : Chief Justice Ranjan Gogoi on Saturday strongly denied sexual harassment allegations and said that the independence of judiciary is "under threat" and it "cannot be made a scapegoat".

A special bench of Supreme Court called for an emergency hearing after an ex-employee at the top court alleged that she was sexually harassed by the chief justice.

"This is unbelievable. I don't think I should stoop low even to deny these allegations," the Chief Justice, who was heading the three judge bench, said during the hearing, and added he will not pass any orders and the senior most judge Arun Mishra will dictate the order.

Accused Chief Justice Ranjan Gogoi, on the other hand, alleged a conspiracy against him and said that some big force is behind such allegation.

The Chief Justice said the allegations had cropped up as he is scheduled to hear important cases in the Supreme Court next week. "I will sit on this chair and discharge my judicial functions without any fear... Things have gone too far. Judiciary cannot be made a scapegoat," he said.

He also claimed that since there was no corruption case against him so people are now using this tactic to defame him.

"After 20 years of selfless service as judge, I have bank balance of Rs. 6.80 lakh. My peon has more money than that... Is this a reward the Chief Justice gets after 20 years," he asked.

The Chief Justice said the woman who made the allegations against him has a criminal background and that there are two police cases against her.