The Chief Justice of India has sought status report from Allahabad High Court in the case related to sexual harassment of the lady civil judge Arpita Sahu posted in Banda following an open letter written by her seeking permission to end her life.
The secretary general of Supreme Court Atul M Kurhekar has sought status and action taken report from High Court administration.
What is the case
The lady civil judge Arpita Sahu, who is posted in Banda, wrote to CJI sharing harrowing tales of harassment and humiliation in a two page letter. She has cited instances related to inappropriate demands of the district judge and resultant harassment that reportedly went unaddressed despite her repeated petitions. The lady judge alleges that the district judge used to pressure her to meet at night.
“In the short time of my service, I have had the rare honour of being abused (the dreaded Hindi mother curse word) on the dais 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. I hoped to provide justice to others. What naive me,” she wrote.
She further wrote: “I wish to tell all the working women in India: Learn to live with sexual harassment. It's a truth of our lives. The POSH ACT is a big wholesome lie told to us. No one listens to us, no one bothers.”
Sahu sought permission from CJI to end her life writing,“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.”
Also Read : A lady judge seeks permission from CJI to end her life due to sexual harassment
Who is judge Arpita Sahu?
The victim lady Judge is 31 years old from Lucknow. She had been in tilers list from high school to LLM. In 2019, she had joined judiciary service and her first posting was Barabanki. As per the lady judge, the harassment has taken place in Barabanki and she also had to face sexual harassment. Later she was transferred to Banda in 2023.
The BuckStopper, run by a group of seasoned journalists, holds the powerful accountable. The buck stops with them, as they cannot shrug off their official responsibilities.
