IAS officer shares anguish over court proceedings on Facebook

A trainee IAS officer, who filed a case of alleged sexual harassment against a Madhya Pradesh Human Rights Commission official, has shared on Facebook her ordeal while recording her statement in a court underlining the "insensitivity" of system towards sufferings of women.
Recounting her trauma while recording her statement on August 1, the officer said, "Idiots are lined up at every step and people are highly insensitive towards our sufferings. If you are born in this country, better prepare yourself for struggle at every step."
"I am posting this message to share my experience with judiciary on a sexual harassment case filed by me," she wrote on her Facebook status posted on Saturday.

What is perhaps the most shocking part of her anguish is alleged remarks of judicial magistrate while she was recording her statement.
"Such is the state of affairs for women in this country. When I said to Judicial Magistrate that he should be careful of presence of other people when a woman is giving statement under sexual harassment case, he said that you are young and that's why demanding such things," she alleged.
In her FIR filed on July 26, the officer had accused Santosh Chaubey, an 'Aayogmitra' of MPHRC, of sending her indecent messages in the preceding week.

According to her, Chaubey was immediately removed from his job following a "swift" intervention by district Collector Bharat Yadav.

"I went to give my statement to the Judicial Magistrate. While I was giving my statement, an advocate named Lalit Sharma was standing next, overhearing my statement, along with others in the court," she claimed.
"I asked the judicial magistrate to ask others to leave as I was uncomfortable giving my statement in front of so many people. On saying this, Lalit Sharma started shouting at me, saying, 'How dare you suggest me to leave, I am an advocate here and you might be an officer in your office but not in the Court'," she alleged.
"I told him that the privacy I am demanding is not as an IAS officer but as a woman and laws provide me with that. He started arguing and eventually left," she further alleged.

When contacted, Sharma, clarified that he only asked the officer to behave as per the dignity of the court and maintain silence and he did not disrespect her.
Meanwhile, state Parliamentary Minister Narottam Mishra said the government was gathering information on the incident and is serious about the matter.