CJI seeks report on woman judge letter seeking permission to end her life while alleging sexual harassment by senior
Dec 15, 2023
New Delhi [India], December 15 : After a woman judicial officer posted in Uttar Pradesh addressed an open letter to the Chief Justice of India DY Chandrachud alleging sexual harassment by a senior judge and requesting permission to end her life, CJI has called for a report from the Allahabad High Court administration on the status of inquiry in her complaints.
The Secretary General of Supreme Court on receiving the order from the CJI asked the Registrar General of Allahabad High Court about the status of the proceedings before the Internal Complaints Committee (ICC) that is dealing with the complaint of the judicial officer.
The woman judicial officer posted in Banda district of Uttar Pradesh in a three-page letter to the CJI accused a district judge of sexual harassment and seeking his permission to "end her life in a dignified way".
"I have no will to live anymore. I have been rendered to a walking corpse in the last year and a half. There is no purpose in carrying this soulless and lifeless body around anymore. There is no purpose left in my life. Kindly permit me to end my life in a dignified way," the letter stated.
The woman officer sought permission to end her life following the abuse and harassment she had faced in her career during her posting in Barabanki.
Despite complaints to the Chief Justice of Allahabad High Court, no action was taken, she claimed.
The letter stated that the Internal Complaints Committee of the High Court took six months to start the enquiry.
"The witnesses in the inquiry were immediate subordinates of the senior judge. How the committee expects the witnesses to depose against their senior is beyond understanding," the letter reads
Earlier, she had filed a petition before the apex court which was dismissed saying the Internal Complaints Committee is already seized of the matter and a resolution has passed which is pending approval of the Chief Justice of the Allahabad High Court.
