Ex-RAW officer moves HC against Justice Dattu as next CJI

An advocate and a former RAW woman officer Tuesday moved the Delhi High Court against the appointment of Justice H.L. Dattu as the next Chief Justice of India (CJI) alleging sexual harassment by him.

Alleging sexual harassment, 51-year-old Nisha Priya Bhatia sought quashing of the recommendation of the government to the president to appoint Justice Dattu as the CJI.

The matter would come up for hearing Wednesday before a division bench of Chief Justice G. Rohini and Justice R.S. Endlaw.

"Quash recommendations reported to have been made by government - as council of ministers - to the president to appoint Justice H.L. Dattu as the Chief Justice of India," the plea said.

Bhatia in the plea alleged that she was a law student in 2011 when Justice Dattu began hearing all her court cases in the Supreme Court, her work place.

"He (Dattu) has since then contributed to her acute and intense sexual harassment even though - under the Vishakha guidelines of the apex court itself - he was obliged to protect her against it, even from the third party," the plea said.

The plea further said Justice Dattu dismissed all her cases and she had also filed complaints against him with police, the National Commission for Women and the Delhi Commission for Women.

Bhatia, a 1987 batch class 1 executive cadre officer in the Research and Analysis Wing (RAW) got compulsory retirement from the service in 2009.