Woman judge alleges sexual harassment by senior, says wants to die in “dignified way”; CJI seeks report

PTI, Dec 15, 2023, 5:32 PM IST

Chief Justice of India D Y Chandrachud (Source: PTI / File)

New Delhi: A woman judicial officer posted in Uttar Pradesh’s Banda district has written a letter to Chief Justice of India D Y Chandrachud accusing a district judge of sexual harassment and seeking his permission to end her life in a “dignified way”, prompting the CJI to call for a report from the Allahabad High Court administration on the status of inquiry.

The woman judicial officer, in her two-page letter, sought the CJI’s permission to end her life following the abuse and harassment she had faced in her career during her posting in Barabanki.

“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, which went viral on social media, said.

According to apex court sources, the Supreme Court’s secretary general, under orders from the CJI, has asked the registrar general of the 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 judge had earlier filed a petition before the top court which came up for hearing before a bench of justices Hrishikesh Roy and Sandeep Mehta.

The bench had dismissed the plea, 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.