Here's Why A Female Judge Sought Permission From CJI To End Her Life

A judge from Banda, Uttar Pradesh, has sought permission from the Chief Justice of India to end her life. In a detailed letter citing her frustration, she listed down her traumatic experience of abuse and the flawed system that failed to support her. She expressed her frustration due to the abuse and harassment she faced during her career and the long battle she had to fight to seek justice which is still pending.

The judge wrote a letter to the CJI, addressing him as the "eldermost guardian", saying, "I have no will to live anymore. I have been rendered to a Walking Corpse in the last year and a half."

In the letter, the judge said that she joined a judicial career with extreme enthusiasm to dispense justice to the common people. However, little did she know, that one day she would be turned into "beggar for Justice on every door that I go". 

Instances Of Abuse 

The letter further reads, "In the short time of my service I have had the rare Honour of being abused (the dreaded Hindi mother curse word) on Dias 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. And I hoped to provide justice to others. What Naive me!"

The letter further talks about the incidents of harassment that the lady judge faced in her career. She alleges that a district court judge had asked her to meet him at night. She had registered a complaint against him to the Chief Justice of Allahabad High Court and the Administrative Judge in 2022. However, no action was undertaken. Later she filed a complaint with the Internal Complaints Committee of the High Court in July 2023. But it took "six months and a thousand emails" to just start the enquiry. 

However, according to the judge, the enquiry was "a farce and a sham". The witnesses in the case were direct subordinates of the district judge. "How the committee expects the witnesses to depose against their boss is beyond my understanding,” the lady judge says in her letter. 

She later petitioned the Supreme Court to seek a transfer of the district judge until the case is being heard. This could have ensured a fair examination of the case. However, as the lady judge says, the Supreme Court dismissed her plea within eight seconds. 

“Just one sentence and DISMISSED. I felt like my life, my dignity and my soul had been DISMISSED. It felt like a personal humiliation. The enquiry will now be conducted with the District Judge being in control of all the witnesses. We all know the fate of such an enquiry.  What justice will I give to others when I am myself hopeless?" the letter said. 

The Plight Of Every Working Woman In India

Through the letter, the judge talks about the plight of every working woman like her. She writes, "I wish to tell all the working women in India: Learn to live with sexual harassment. It’s a truth of our lives”. She also goes on to allege that the Protection of Women from Sexual Harassment, Act (2013) is “a big wholesome lie”. “No one listens, no one bothers. If you complain, you will be tortured. Be submissive. And, when I say no one listens, that includes the Supreme Court. You will get eight seconds of hearing, an insult and a threat to impose costs. You will be pushed to commit suicide," the letter read. 

Ending the letter, the judge says, "There is no purpose left in my life. Kindly permit me to end my life in a dignified way. Let my life be: DISMISSED."