sexual harassment Charge against ex-judge: SC panel to probe

mangaloretoday.com

New Delhi, Nov 12, 2013, (PTI): The Supreme Court Tuesday set up a three-member committee to go into a newspaper report in which a law student of Kolkata-based NUJS has alleged sexual harassment by a retired apex court judge while she was interning with him. PTI file photo

Hit by allegations of sexual misbehaviour by one of its judges, the Supreme Court today constituted a three-judge committee to go into the charge of a woman intern that she was sexually harassed last December by a judge, who retired recently.

Observing that he was concerned as head of the institution (judiciary), Chief Justice P Sathasivam said, "In the cases of sexual harassment, we cannot take it lightly."

 

"We are taking steps," said the three-judge bench also comprising justices Ranjan Gogoi and Shiva Kirti Singh after Attorney General G E Vahavati mentioned the matter, saying, "Its an extremely serious matter".

The CJI said the matter was also mentioned at 10.30 AM today and during the lunch recess it was discussed with other judges. "I have constituted a committee comprising three judges--Justices R M Lodha, H L Dattu and Ranjana Prakash Desai."

"The committee will go into the whole affair and find out the facts and prepare the report and from today evening they are going to start their work," the CJI said.

"First, the committee will find out the correctness of the statement," Justice Sathasivam said, observing that there are records about the interns or advocates who are associated with judges.

Further entries are made about persons coming to the Supreme Court and the committee will go into it, he said.

"As the head of the institution, I am also concerned about the allegation," the CJI said, adding, "I am anxious whether the statement is true or not."

The allegation of sexual assault hit the Supreme Court when a young woman intern accused a sitting judge, who retired recently, of having misbehaved with her in a hotel room last December when the nation was grappling with the gangrape of a 23-year-old woman in the capital.

The allegation, levelled by the woman lawyer against the unnamed judge, was raised in the apex court before the Chief Justice by advocate M L Sharma with a plea that the issue be taken note of suo motu on the basis of media reports and an inquiry be initiated.

While the bench was passing the order, advocate Sharma reminded the judges that he had mentioned the matter in the morning.

"Yes, you mentioned it in the morning at 10.30. It was lingering in my mind while I was hearing the submission made by a senior counsel in another matter," the CJI said, adding, "We are conscious of the fact."

Justice Sathasivam said guidelines have been framed and notified in the gazette to deal with issues of sexual harassment in the apex court premises and curb the evil.
Members are yet to be inducted in the committee for which communication has already been sent to Supreme Court Bar Association and Law Clerks Association to select the members, but they have not yet replied.

A deadline of November 30 has been set for them to nominate the members, the CJI said.
The bench had assembled 20 minutes late after the lunch break.
The Attorney General narrated the news report published in a leading daily today and said it was based on the blog written by the intern and a subsequent interview given by her.

Vahanvati said, "It is an extremely serious matter and you have to look at it seriously."
He also said the matter has to be taken up very seriously in view of the apex court’s guidelnes laid down in the Visakha judgement dealing withe sexual harassment of women at work place.

The bench said "As a leader of the bar, we appreciate your effort. We are anxious whether the statement is true or not."

After hearing the Attorney General, the bench told him that since it has already constituted a committee, it will keep the petition pending for two weeks.

Earlier during the day, a three-judge bench headed by the CJI, before whom the matter was raised by Sharma, said, "We are conscious of the fact."

The bench refused to pass any order when Sharma said that the matter is very serious and as the head of Indian judiciary, the CJI, should initiate inquiry on the allegation.
The woman, who graduated from National University of Juridical Sciences (NUJS), Kolkata this year and a fellow with an organisation, Natural Justice: Lawyers for Communities and the Environment, wrote about the alleged sexual harassment incident in a blog.

In the blog written on November 6 for Journal of Indian Law and Society, the woman said the incident took place last year when she was interning with the apex court judge.

"Last December was momentous for the feminist movement in the country-–almost an entire population seemed to rise up spontaneously against the violence on women, and the injustices of a seemingly apathetic government. In the strange irony of situations that our world is replete with, the protests were the backdrop of my own experience.

"In Delhi at that time, interning during the winter vacations of my final year in University, I dodged police barricades and fatigue to go to the assistance of a highly reputed, recently retired Supreme Court judge whom I was working under during my penultimate semester.

"For my supposed diligence, I was rewarded with sexual assault (not physically injurious, but nevertheless violating) from a man old enough to be my grandfather. I won’t go into the gory details, but suffice it to say that long after I’d left the room, the memory remained, in fact, still remains, with me," she said in the blog.

The law graduate, also in an interview to a website, said she was harassed by the judge in a hotel room and there were no other witnesses to the incident.

"It was a hotel room, (people) saw me walking in voluntarily, saw me walking out very calmly. I didn’t even walk out (with) fear. At that moment I felt I needed to walk out very calmly. I never mentioned anything the same day to anybody," she said while speaking to ’Legally India’.

The woman, who did not mention the date of incident in her blog, has said in the interview with the website that it took place on December 24, last year.

The blog reads, "All the talk during that time was of stricter punishment, of baying for the blood of creepy men. Five years of law school had taught me to look to the law for all solutions–even where I knew that the law was hopelessly inadequate–and my reluctance to wage a legal battle against the judge left me feeling cowardly. On reflection though, I cannot help but wonder why I should have felt that way.

"As mentioned earlier, I bore, and still bear, no real ill-will towards the man, and had no desire to put his life’s work and reputation in question. On the other hand, I felt I had a responsibility to ensure that other young girls were not put in a similar situation. But I have been unable to find a solution that allows that."

The woman also said despite the heated public debates, a vast army of feminist vigilantes, new criminal laws and sexual harassment laws, she has not found closure.
In the interview, she said, "I have heard of three other cases (of sexual harassment) by the same judge and I know of at least four other girls who have faced harassment from other judges not perhaps as (bad as mine); most of them were in the chambers of the judge and other people around, so it never gets too bad.

"A girl I know faced continuous sexual harassment throughout and sexual advances, and actually faced troubles through her work because of it."