Editorial : When a Judge Himself Commits Crime, When a police himself robs, Murders …

Judge accused of molesting 2 rape survivors in UP

 

A sitting judicial magistrate sexually assaulted them

 

UP: Two rape victims claim that a sitting judicial magistrate sexually assaulted them. The girls

alleged that when they went to the magistrate’s chamber to give their statement, he allegedly

made them strip and molested them.

One of the girls is a minor and the police have filed a complaint. The girls also claimed that the

judge threatened them to not speak of the incident to anyone.

Lawyers and the general public in Gonda launched a protest against the judge.

 

 

 

 

Another law intern alleges sexual harassment by a former SC judge

 

New Delhi: Another law intern has leveled allegations of sexual harassment against a former Supreme Court judge. A Supreme Court committee is already probing allegations made by another student and had asked her to appear before it.

Earlier, a woman lawyer had written a blog in which she charged a former Supreme Court judge of sexually harassing her, while she interned with him in 2012. The woman lawyer who completed her law degree from National University of Jurdicial Sciences, Kolkata wrote is her blog, "In Delhi at that time, interning during the winter vacations of my final year in the University, I dodged police barricades and fatigue to go to the assistance of a highly reputed, recently retired Supreme Court judge whom I was working under during my penultimate semester. For my supposed diligence, I was rewarded with sexual assault (not physically injurious, but nevertheless violating) from a man old enough to be my grandfather."

She had also claimed that at least three other girls have also faced harassment by the same judge. The girl said that she had refrained from disclosing the details initially due to the high position that the judge held.

The Chief Justice of India said, "As the head of the institution, I am also concerned about the allegations and anxious whether the statement is true or not. The committee will go into the whole affair and find out the facts. We are taking steps and in cases of sexual harassment, we cannot take it lightly."

 

Another law student who interned with the Supreme Court has accused a now-retired judge of sexually harassing her, barely a week after similar charges were levelled by another intern.

The latest allegations were made on a Facebook post on November 11 and reported by a law website, Legally India, on Thursday.

The same website had given the link to the first intern’s blog, describing her ordeal. The Supreme Court has appointed a three-judge panel to inquiry into her allegations and the victim has been asked to record her statement on November 18.

But unlike the first instance, the website this time has not given the link to the Facebook post or identified the woman. When contacted Kian Ganz, who reported both the incidents, told HT: “I got to know about the second intern’s experience with the judge through the Facebook post. However, I wasn’t able to confirm if she wanted to go public.”

The second victim, too, was an intern with the same judge, the website said. HT, however, could not confirm the claims or the allegations independently. The two women can’t be identified for legal reasons.

The excerpts uploaded on Legally India on Thursday quote the second intern as saying she was “at the receiving end of unsolicited sexual advance more than once”. Both the interns knew each other, the report claimed. 

“…. we kept attributing all the signs of leeriness to our hypersensitivity... We discussed innocuously said off-colour remarks and dismissed their creepiness because we really respected him [the judge], and the possibility seemed at odds with everything we knew about him, his ideas about feminism, patriarchy, social justice...,” the website quoted from the second intern’s post.

The first intern had alleged that the judge had misbehaved with other women interns as well.

The second intern said as much. “In this case, we spoke to other women... and found out that there was a history to such behaviour.”

“We also alerted some female senior faculty to the incident so that they would ensure that no female student was assigned work with him without being told to be on her guard.”

The website further quotes her as saying “he promised, incidentally, that he would never misbehave with another lady. Maybe it’s naiveté to believe him. Maybe it’s just youthful optimism. Being brave is tougher than it appears on the face of it, no?”

The post then goes on say that the judge “lost his RA’s [research assistants] and got a dressing down from a 23-year-old which should have come from his father.

“Why deprive girls from the chance to work with an illustrious mind because the mind is a little sick? A guy who gets the task would get a savvy CV and a better job opp (opportunity). We didn’t want girls to be left at a disadvantage,” the post, as uploaded on Legally India, read.

 

 

 

 

Law student sexually harassed by ex-Supreme Court judge: case is not unique, but speaking out is nearly impossible

 

A law graduate who recently blogged about how a retired Supreme Court judge sexually

assaulted her while she was his intern, says that the problem is real and not uncommon amongst

the judiciary and senior bar but that she sees few if any ways of tackling it.

Stella James, who graduated from NUJS Kolkata this year and now works at the NGO Natural

Justice, Lawyers for Communities and the Environment, wrote about an alleged incident of

physical, sexual assault by an unnamed, retired Supreme Court judge in late 2012.

In a post that was published on the blog of the NUJS Journal of Indian Law and Society on 6

November, she wrote about trying to come to terms with her experience of 24 December 2012,

Christmas Eve, ironically against the backdrop of the then-ongoing Delhi gang rape protests:

“In Delhi at that time, interning during the winter vacations of my final year in University, I dodged

police barricades and fatigue to go to the assistance of a highly reputed, recently retired Supreme

Court judge whom I was working under during my penultimate semester. For my supposed

diligence, I was rewarded with sexual assault (not physically injurious, but nevertheless

violating) from a man old enough to be my grandfather. I won’t go into the gory details, but suffice

it to say that long after I’d left the room, the memory remained, in fact, still remains, with me.”

“Frankly I was really shocked,” James tells Legally India in an interview today. “There’s this thing:

a person who is a Supreme Court judge - you don’t expect a Supreme Court judge to harass

somebody.”

However, she says that her experience was neither uncommon, nor merely restricted to the

judiciary: “I’ve heard of three other cases [of sexual harassment] by the same judge and I know of

at least four other girls who’ve faced harassment from other judges - not perhaps as [bad as

mine]: most of them were in the chambers of the judge and other people around, so it never gets

too bad.

“A girl I know faced continuous sexual harassment throughout and sexual advances, and actually

faced troubles through her work because of it.” And she says she’s heard of Supreme Court

senior counsel who have made passes at or have continuously harassed interns for longer

periods.

And though it is barely, if at all, known outside legal circles, it is a bit of an open secret or a “big

joke” within the profession, particularly among clerks and women working in the Supreme Court,

according to James.

“People in the Supreme Court kind of know,” she says. “I did my internship through the college

[recruitment process].” After beginning to share her experience with others in college, however,

James found that others had also faced similar problems with the same judge.

James’ reasons for not going public with the name of the judge or not lodging a formal complaint

are complex, both morally and practically. On the one hand, she wrote in the blog post:

“I bore, and still bear, no real ill-will towards the man, and had no desire to put his life’s work and

reputation in question. On the other hand, I felt I had a responsibility to ensure that other young

girls were not put in a similar situation. But I have been unable to find a solution that allows that.

Despite the heated public debates, despite a vast army of feminist vigilantes, despite new

criminal laws and sexual harassment laws, I have not found closure. The lack of such an

alternative led to my facing a crippling sense of intellectual and moral helplessness.”

“I’d worked for him for six months and he treated me really well for six months and has been

really kind to me,” James explains. “It was rather strange to me but I haven’t really forgiven him

for it… [But] I don’t know if I want to let myself - my impression of him as a person - be entirely

dictated by that act… My leeway to him isn’t because he’s had a shining career and all that - part

of it is that – [but] I’m not really sure I want to ruin somebody’s entire life because of that.”

“Once it gets out in the open that he’s harassed other girls,” James says, “people will only look at

him in that light.”

However, James admits that one other strong reason, which was not really touched upon in her

blog post, was concern about whether legal action would even have any effect. James had

managed to reach two of the other young women who were harassed by the same judge but

neither were willing to come forward in public, mostly out of fear. “They don’t really want to

jeopordise their careers,” James relates. “He’s a Supreme Court judge. If it’s going to be his word

against our word, he’s got more credibility, so to speak, of his words.”

And she adds that if she by herself had wanted to take legal action, it would probably not have

been possible. “There were no other witnesses, it was just me. It was a hotel room, [people] saw

me walking in voluntarily, saw me walking out very calmly. I didn’t even walk out [with] fear. At

that moment I felt I needed to walk out very calmly. I never mentioned anything the same day to

anybody.”

Apart from the evidentiary difficulty in proving the crime, the more serious problem for lawyers is

perhaps inherent in the profession itself. James said she had never heard of any official

harassment complaints within the legal profession or against any judges. And while Legally India

understands that sexual harassment complaints are at times made in law firms, most are handled

very delicately and quietly, with the firm encouraging informal resolution.

In courts, it is even worse, speculates James, in that there is usually no one you can realistically

complain to, unlike in a company or college structure where harassed by a boss or lecturer, for

example, and where she would have taken formal action in a similar incident. “Of course you can

file a criminal complaint [against a judge or lawyer] but that’s a whole different level.” And it is

also likely to impact your career.

“I know a friend of mine who was sexually harassed at the Karnataka high court,” says James.

That friend “wasn’t keeping it a secret” and telling lawyer friends about why she left the job with

that senior, and for two months afterwards she wasn’t able to find a job at the same court, being

asked about the incident in interviews after it dripped through the court’s grapevine (she

eventually found a job after deciding to evade the issue at interviews).

The mindset in such cases often is, “she created trouble for him, she’ll create trouble for us”,

speculates James.

She says she was also skeptical about the Supreme Court’s recently started sexual harassment

cell and guidelines improving matters considerably. “It is often one person’s word against another

person’s word, and a lot of people tend not to take the word” of a young lawyer against a senior

advocate who’s made his reputation for 10 to 15 years. “There is a balance of power thing going

on here.”

The only thing that James has been able to do, other than write the blog, is discuss the incident

with members of her alma mater, possibly de-listing the judge from the recruitment process so

that others are not exposed to similar experiences.

While James does feel that colleges have a responsibility to protect their students, she

acknowledges that it could be difficult. The judge in question has been closely associated with

her former college for a while by giving lectures and regularly taking on research assistants, so

whether faculty can take unequivocal action is not certain.

Nevertheless, James says that potentially recruitment committees of colleges could make a

difference. “I think at least – there should be some way, if not publicly then at least privately, kids

who go intern with a judge should know that this has happened before.”

James says that she was able to come forward, albeit without disclosing names, because of her

choice to work with an NGO with a possible view to entering academia at some point in her

career.

“I was a little afraid,” she admits. “The other friends I’ve spoken about, they are in positions where

these judges play an important role [at the Supreme Court or teaching in a college and they] are

afraid of jeopardising their careers. I don’t have such concerns here at Natural Justice - I have a

team that’s incredibly supportive, and three colleagues were first to read the blog post [before

publication].

“For me, the great thing is that I’m in an organisation where I know that if I come out in public

about it, we are 25 people, and I’m pretty sure I’ll have the entire team behind me.”

That lawyers elsewhere are unlikely or unable to protect their own from sexual harassment, is a

problem the profession will have to deal with sooner rather than later.

 

Update 12 November: The Chief Justice of India has decided to institute a three-member

judicial committee to probe the allegation.

 

 

JUDGE SENDING OBSCENE SMS TO WOMEN

 

Lucknow Taking cognisance of the allegation against a civil Judge (junior division) of

Budaun court that he sent obscene SMSes to a woman lecturer, the Registrar General of

Allahabad High Court today sought a report from the district judge into the matter.

The civil judge of Gunnor sub-division court of Budaun — Pramod Kumar Gangwar— was

accused of sending obscene SMSes from his cellphone to a woman lecturer of Classic

College of Law, Bareilly. A lecturer of the same college, Vivek Gupta, was named in the FIR

lodged by the victim while Gangwar’s name surfaced in the primary investigation.

Registrar General Dinesh Gupta said, “The district judge of Budaun has been asked to

send a detailed report into the allegations. Appropriate action would be taken on the basis

of the report.”

District Judge Suresh Kumar Srivastava said, “I have asked the Bareilly district police to

send a report about the matter. The report on the basis of the police inquiry would be sent

to the Allahabad High Court Registrar General.”

“I am not aware about the matter, as the Bareilly police did not intimate me before initiating

the probe against the civil judge. They should have informed me when they had received

any such complaint,” the judge added.

Meanwhile, Bareilly CO II Raj Kumar, who is investigating the case, today recorded the

statement of the victim. “I have collected the call details of the cellphone used for sending

the SMSes, but I have yet to get the address of the person who is subscriber of the SIM

card,” he said.

“The probe is on to verify if the accused in the case were present on the location recorded

in the call details when the SMSes were sent. The details of the findings of the

investigation would be sent to the Budaun district court to seek the direction,” the CO

added.

Asked if the investigation was earlier conducted into the matter, Raj Kumar said, “The SP

(Crime) had initiated probe into the matter, but I am not aware if the investigation had

reached to any conclusion.”

The woman lecturer had lodged an FIR at the Mahila police station on Thursday alleging

she had received obscene SMSes on her cellphone involving her colleague Vivek Gupta.

The preliminary inquiry into the case by the police yesterday had found that the mobile

phone used in the crime belongs to the civil judge.

 

 

IB confirms Mysore Roost  Resort sex scandal

 

 

The Intelligence Bureau has provided the Centre with a detailed account of the escapade

involving three Karnataka High Court judges on November 3 in a resort on the outskirts of

Mysore, highly placed sources told The Times of India on Friday.

According to a senior official, “Most of the information sought has not only confirmed the veracity

of the incident but the government has crosschecked it with another police agency. Both the

reports match.”

The incident was widely reported in the media. What has surprised the Centre is the “dogged

refusal” of the Karnataka police to confirm the incident. “Mysore Police Commissioner C.

Chandrasekhar first denied that the incident ever took place. Only when a public notice was

issued through the high court registrar seeking information on the Mysore scandal, did the facts

come out in the open. Public protest helped a lot,” says the source.

What transpired at the resort, says the source, “cannot be expected from anyone in civil society,

leave alone persons sworn to upholding the law”. According to him, “The IB report consists of

unmentionable facts and also makes it amply clear that the Mysore incident is not the first time

such things have happened. Can anyone expect upholders of the law to pick a fight with people

who complained to the police when caught in a compromising position?”

In a related development, Karnataka High Court Chief Justice N.K. Jain has written to Chief

Justice of India Justice G.B. Pattanaik asking that three judges be transferred. Jain has proposed

that Justice N.S. Veerabhadraiah be transferred to the Patna High Court, Justice

Chandrasekharaiah to Jammu & Kashmir and Justice V. Gopala Gowda to the Gauhati High

Court.

While Jain is understood not to have given any reasons, highly placed sources say the proposal

for transfers is linked to the Mysore incident.

However, the source says that now the government is worried about the appropriate “remedial

measures”. In such cases, transferring a judge to a remote high court doesn’t always work. He

says, “Bar associations and the people of northeastern states were up in arms when some

judges of the Punjab and Haryana high courts were transferred there. We expect similar protests

if the CJI accepts Justice Jain’s proposal to transfer the three judges of the Karnataka High

Court.”

The Bar Council of India on Friday, while expressing its anguish at the Karnataka incident, called

for “follow-up action”.

“Unless prompt and appropriate action is taken, it will erode the faith of public in the only

institution considered to be the bastion of our fighting faith in democracy,” it said in a statement.

The BCI has “lamented” inaction in this case by “the higher judiciary and the government”.

 

Read more: IB confirms Mysore sex scandal – The Times of India  http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/bangalore/IB-confirms-Mysore-sexscandal/articleshow/29801662.cms#ixzz1B7PtvFdU

 

 

Lokayukta: DC demanded sex from widow

 

 

In the midst of a national outrage over former Haryana DGP SPS Rathore molesting a teenager,

the Karnataka Lokayukta on Saturday made a startling revelation that the state government was

shielding a top bureaucrat who had demanded sexual favours from a young widow.

Lokayukta Justice Santosh Hegde disclosed that the official concerned, who was the deputy

commissioner of one of the districts when he demanded sex from the widow in return for

discharging his duties as public servant, has since been promoted to a senior position.

Justice Hegde, in the course of an interaction with journalists at the Deccan Herald office

Saturday afternoon, said the unnamed widow had dared the deputy commissioner and

approached the Lokayukta’s office with a complaint against the officer.

On examination of the complaint, the Lokayukta had found sufficient grounds to recommend to

the state government the suspension and prosecution of the DC concerned. The

recommendation was subsequently considered by the concerned department head as well as

the chief secretary and both endorsed it.

But, according to Justice Hegde, no action was initiated against the DC as the same official who

had endorsed the recommendation subsequently found no basis for initiating departmental action

against him. Instead, the official cleared the DC’s name for promotion in the super-scale.

Presently, the official holds a senior position in the government.

The widow, in her late 20s, had approached the DC with a representation to sort out some

problems. But she was shocked when the DC demanded sex.

Justice Hegde did not identify the official in question or the complainant. Nor did he offer to name

the district where the official was serving as deputy commissioner. But the incident has

happened sometime in the course of last three years as Justice Hegde took over as the

Lokayukta in mid-2006.

 

3-year jail term for ‘dirty’ judge

 

Family court judge Ramrao Gangaram Bhise attempted to get sexual favours from a housewife in

1997

Family court judge Ramrao Gangaram Bhise’s attempts to extract sexual favours, in addition to a

bribe, from a housewife, Alka Gaikwad — who had sought an increase in her monthly

maintenance allowance from her estranged husband, in 1997 — proved costly to him.

Pronouncing him guilty on both counts, the special court hearing anti-corruption bureau (ACB)

matters sentenced him to three years rigorous imprisonment and a collective fine of Rs55, 000,

on Monday.

According to the FIR in the case registered against Bhise by the ACB, Suryakant Gaikwad had

filed for divorce from his wife, Alka, before the Bandra family court. Alka, a housewife, in turn,

filed a petition seeking mutual cohabitation with her husband. The then family court judge, Meera

Khadakkar, directed the husband to pay her an interim maintenance allowance of Rs750 per

month.

Subsequently, in January 1997, Alka filed another application before the same family court (now

presided over by Bhise) seeking to increase the monthly maintenance amount to Rs3,500. “On

October 27, 1997, Bhise issued an interim order, increasing the maintenance allowance to

Rs2,000 to be paid by Suryakan to his estranged wife till the disposal of the case. Immediately

after issuing the order, Bhise asked Alka to meet him and gave her his residential telephone

number, asking her to call him when the court hours ended. He told her that he would ask her

husband to pay her a lump sum of Rs2 lakh in addition to the monthly maintenance, provided she

called him up,” the FIR states.

When she called up the judge at 7 pm the same day, Bhise told her that she would have to pay

him a sum of Rs2,000 in addition to granting his sexual favours if she wanted an order in her

favour. He also directed her to meet him at the Haji Ali bus stop with the bribe amount the

following evening.

“Alka approached the ACB, which sought permission from the Chief Justice of the Bombay High

Court before laying a trap on the first class judicial magistrate (Bhise). The HC while granting the

permission designated a court official to bear witness to the events leading to the trap. Alka,

under video camera surveillance of ACB sleuths, along with the court official and other women

witnesses met Bhise at 8.30 pm at the Haji Ali bus stop. Bhise took hold of Alka’s wrist and when

she protested, repeated his demands,” the FIR states.

Alka was then taken to a nearby hotel, Sharda, where the judge accepted the bribe amount. But

before he could do anything else, ACB sleuths swooped in and arrested him.