“Let my life be DISMISSED”: UP judge alleges sexual harassment, writes a letter to the CJI seeking permission to end her life

Alleging sexual harassment “to the very limit”, a woman civil judge from Banda, Uttar Pradesh wrote an open letter, addressed to the Chief Justice of India on Thursday, seeking permission to end her life. Chief Justice of India, DY Chandrachud has asked for a report on the status of the complaints filed by the woman judge by Friday morning.

In a letter with the subject line, “Open letter to CJI to request permission to END MY LIFE and a message to all working women in India”, the UP judge has alleged that she was sexually harassed and ill-treated by a district judge and his associates, pushing her towards the dire action of taking her own life.

“In the short time of my service I have had the honor of being abused on Dias in open court. I have been sexually harassed to the very limit. I have been treated like utter garbage. I feel like an unwanted insect. And I hope to provide justice to others. What Naive me!” wrote the UP judge who has purportedly knocked on all doors seeking justice. “Kindly permit me to end my life in a dignified way. Let my life be DISMISSED,” she pleaded to the CJI, the “eldermost guardian”.

The woman has stated that she was called by the District Judge to visit him at night. She filed a complaint to the Chief Justice of the Allahabad High Court, however, she alleges that no action has been taken to this day. Seeking justice, she alerted the Internal Complaints Committee of the Allahabad High Court in July 2023, and it took “six months and a thousand emails to start an enquiry”, she mentioned in her letter. Expressing her disappointment, she stated that the enquiry that ensued as a result of her persistent requests was a “farce and a sham.” "The witnesses in the enquiry are immediate Subordinates of the District Judge. How the Committee expects the Witnesses to depose against their Boss is beyond my understanding," she wrote alleging that all the evidence was tampered with. “I did not expect that my complaints and statement be taken as the Cardinal truth. All I wished for was a Fair Enquiry,” she added in her letter.

In her letter, the UP Judge further warned the women of India that the POSH (Prevention of Sexual Harassment) Act is a “big wholesome lie.” “No one listens, no one bothers. If you complain, you will be tortured. Be submissive. And when I say no one listens, that includes the Supreme Court,” stated the victim. Trying to encapsulate the alleged helplessness of the working women of India and their desire to ride against the tide and fight the system, the UP judge said, “If any of the women think you’ll fight against the system, let me tell you, I couldn’t. And I am a JUDGE. I could not even muster a fair enquiry for myself. Let alone JUSTICE.”

“What justice will I give to others when I am myself hopeless? 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,” wrote the UP judge in her two-page letter that speaks of the hurdles she was subjected to in her quest to seek justice for herself.

In adherence to the instructions given by CJI DY Chandrachud, Atul M Kurhekar, the Supreme Court Secretary General had asked for a report on the status of the complaints filed by the victim from the Registrar General of the Allahabad High Court by Friday. The SC Secretary General was informed over a phone call on Thursday night that the Chief Justice of the Allahabad High Court had taken cognizance of the open letter that had gone viral on social media.​