Law graduate appears before inquiry committee in sexual harassment case

A law graduate of the Kolkata-based National University of Judicial Sciences (NUJS), who had alleged sexual harassment by a now retired apex court judge while she was interning with him in December last year, Monday deposed before the three-judge inquiry committee looking into the allegation.

The law graduate appeared before the committee of Justice R.M. Lodha, Justice H.L. Dattu and Justice Ranjana Prakash Desai that was set up by Chief Justice P. Sathasivam Nov 12 and mandated to look into the correctness of her allegations published by a newspaper.

The sitting of the inquiry committee began at 4.30 p.m. and lasted for more than two hours.

The movements of the young lawyer right from the point of reaching the apex court and leaving it after deposing before the committee were wrapped in secrecy.

The only indication that Monday's session of the inquiry committee was over was when the three judges left the court premises.

There was no official word on what transpired in Monday's proceedings of the inquiry committee.

The young lawyer who is at present working with the Natural Justice: Lawyers for Communities and Environment organisation, had first alleged sexual harassment Nov 6, 2013, in a blog for the Journal of Indian Law and Society.

Subsequently, she repeated the allegation in an interview to Legally India website.

She has said that besides herself she has heard that three other girls too were sexually harassed by the same judge.

She claimed to have knowledge of another four girls who were allegedly harassed by other judges in their chambers.