Was the party at Taj a celebration of Ayodhya verdict, responds Ranjan Gogoi

NEW DELHI: Former Chief Justice Ranjan Gogoi said the dinner hosted at Taj for judges after the Ayodhya verdict was not part of the celebrations. He revealed this in an interview to NDTV. In his recently published autobiography, he shared the news and pictures of himself attending a dinner at a luxury hotel in Delhi along with other judges of the Ayodhya bench and this had courted a controversy.

‘After pronouncing the verdict, I took the judges to Taj Mansingh Hotel for dinner. We had Chinese food and then shared the best bottle of wine available there,’ he mentioned this in his book. When you go for dinner with friends, at times, don't you feel like tasting outside food. That was not a celebration. Each of these judges worked in the Ayodhya verdict for four months. My judges and all of us worked hard. Thought of having a break and so decided to have food from outside,’ he told NDTV.

Gogoi mentioned about the evening of November 9, 2019 in his book ‘Justice for the Judge’. The five-member constitutional bench led by Gogoi who pronounced the verdict included Justices S A Bobde, D Y Chandrachud, Ashok Bhushan and S Abdul Nazir.

He also spoke about his decision to preside over a hearing called in the wake of the allegations of sexual harassment levelled against him by a female court employee.

‘"In my book, there is a sentence, that in retrospect, perhaps my participation on the bench was not correct. The decision was driven by concern over his reputation.’
"CJIs (Chief Justices of India) don't descend from the heaven. 40 years of reputation built up over hard work is sought to be destroyed, you are required to take a call. Some part of it goes wrong."

He also talked about his controversial entry into the Rajya Sabha, saying, 'I did not think twice before accepting such an offer. Personally I don’t feel comfortable going there. He said that he goes only when he has to talk about some important issues.