'No will to live anymore': Indian judge alleges sexual harassment at workplace; CJI seeks status report

A judge in the Indian state of Uttar Pradesh has pleaded for euthanasia after alleging that she was sexually harassed at her workplace, media reports said on Thursday (Dec 14). In a letter addressed to Chief Justice of India (CJI) Dhananjaya Y Chandrachud which went viral on social media, the judge said she was sexually harassed by "one particular district judge and his associates."

"I complained to the Hon'ble Chief Justice, Allahabad, and the Administrative Judge (High Court Judge) in 2022. No action has been taken till date. No one even bothered to ask me: WHAT HAPPENED, WHY ARE YOU DISTRESSED?" she said.

The judge said she complained to the Internal Complaints Committee of the high court in July this year, adding it took six months and thousands of emails just to start an enquiry- which she called a farce and a sham.

Add WION as a Preferred Source

"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," the judge told the CJI in her letter.

The judge also said the enquiry would now be conducted with the district judge being in control of all witnesses. "We all know the fate of such an enquiry."

"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," she further said and urged CJI Chandrachud to permit her to end her life in a dignified way.

CJI Chandrachud has now sought a report from the Allahabad High Court administration on the status of the enquiry.