‘No will to live anymore’, UP judge alleges sexual harassment; CJI Chandrachud seeks report

‘No will to live anymore’, a woman civil judge in Uttar Pradesh's Banda district alleged sexual harassment by her senior in an open letter to CJI DY Chandrachud that went viral on social media platforms. She sought permission to end her life as she had no hope of getting a fair inquiry.

The letter that became public on Thursday read, “I have no will to live anymore. I have been rendered 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.”

She said it took six months and a thousand emails to start an inquiry. “The proposed inquiry is also a farce and a sham. The witnesses in the inquiry are immediate subordinates of the district judge. How the committee expects the witnesses to depose against their boss is beyond my understanding,” the woman judge said in the letter as quoted by HT.

The woman judge stated that she had been asked to meet with the district judge at night. She argued that despite a complaint being filed in 2022 with the administrative judge and chief justice of the Allahabad High Court, no action had been taken as of yet. Later, in July 2023, she complained to the high court's internal complaints committee. 

She even asked for the transfer of the district judge during the pendency of the inquiry for a fair examination of facts, however, her plea was turned down. The Supreme Court of India dismissed her case after eight seconds of hearing, the woman judge said in the letter.

In the letter, the judge also indicated that she has attempted to commit suicide in the past, Hindustan Times reported.

On December 4, the woman judge filed a petition before the top court. A bench led by Justice Hrishikesh Roy was hearing the petition on Wednesday during which he said it does not need to issue any judicial order for the time being because an ICC was already seized of the complaint. The bench suggested the woman to wait.

“Since the Internal Complaints Committee is already in session of the matter and a resolution has already passed which is pending approval of the Chief Justice, we see no reason to entertain this writ petition under Article 32 of the Constitution. The writ petition is, accordingly, dismissed,” the order read, as per HT reports.

The CJI on Thursday sought a status report from the Allahabad High CVourt administration on the status of the investigation into claims of sexual harassment made by a female civil judge in Uttar Pradesh.