Assam Public Works President Aabhijeet Sharma files Rs 1 crore defamation case against former CJI Ranjan Gogoi

Guwahati based NGO, Assam Public Works President Aabhijeet Sharma has filed Rs 1 crore defamation case against former Chief Justice of India Ranjan Gogoi for allegedly writing misleading and defamatory statements against Sharma in his autobiography “Justice for The Judge”.

Sharma mentioned in his suite that the said statement by the Rajya Sabha Member and former CJI Ranjan Gogoi has hampered and degraded his reputation amongst the people of Assam. 

It is to be mentioned here that, Sharma had filed a writ petition before the Supreme Court for updation of NRC 1951 in Assam. It was during the pendency of the said writ petition, the process of updation of NRC started in Assam in the year 2015 and Prateek Hajela was being appointed as the State Co-Ordinator of National Register of Citizen (SCNR). The entire process of updation of NRC in the State of Assam was monitored by the Supreme Court of India and the Co-ordinator of NRC Assam had to place the reports before the apex court from time to time. 

It was Sharma who gave a press conference in the year 2017 alleging scam under the leadership of Prateek Hajela in the updation process of NRC in Assam. Sharma was even called for before the Supreme Court Bench wherein Sharma was scolded and direction was passed to file a suo-moto contempt case against Shamra wherein the he was asked to tender unconditioinal apology before the Supreme Court.

However, the issue raised by Sharma regarding misappropriation of fund in the NRC updation process was found to be correct by the Comptroller and Auditor General of India.

Prateek Hajela was even transferred to Madhya Pradesh from Assam on deputation. Following the incident, Ranjan Gogoi wrote his autobiography under the name “Justice For the Judge” where he allegedly mentioned the following sentence, which was found defamatory in nature by Sharma. “At the local level, personal attack SCNR and veiled attacks on the judges, particularly me, by local politicians and specifically by Abhijit Sharma, the president of Assam Public Works (petitioner in w.p© No.274 of 2009) left us (the Bench) convinced that orders should be passed to protect Hajela from undue harassment and calculated harm. The Bench passed the order dated 18 October 2019 for his deputation on inter-cadre transfer to Madhya Pradesh, his home state. Subsequent events like filing of FIRs against Hajela and other NRC officials; allegations of corruption and threats to order CBI probes besides enormous misinformation to the media and wide publicity thereof leave me convinced that the Bench was thoroughly justified in passing the rather unusual order for the inter-cadre transfer of Hajela by involing Article 142 of the Constitution”.

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