'Permit me to end my life': UP woman judge alleging harrasment, seeks CJI's permission to die

A woman civil judge from Uttar Pradesh's Banda district has reached out to CJI DY Chandrachud, seeking permission to end her life. Her plea follows the abuse and harassment she claims to have endured during her tenure in Barabanki, including unsettling incidents involving a district judge.

CJI Chandrachud on Thursday sought a status report from the Allahabad high court administration on the status of an inquiry into allegations of sexual harassment raised by a woman civil judge in UP's Banda district against a district judge of the state judiciary and his associates.

The development comes on a day when the woman judge’s letter to the CJI went viral on social media, detailing the profound impact of the alleged abuse on her mental well-being. In her plea, she expresses a lack of will to live, describing herself as a "Walking Corpse" and stating, "There is no purpose left in my life. Kindly permit me to end my life in a dignified way."

Legal proceedings regarding the matter began when she filed a petition before the Supreme Court on December 4. During the hearing, a bench led by Justice Hrishikesh Roy noted that an Internal Complaints Committee (ICC) was already addressing the woman judge's complaint. However, the woman claims her case was summarily dismissed by the Supreme Court after merely eight seconds of consideration.

In her letter, the woman judge highlighted that the district judge accused of harassment had asked her to meet him at night. Despite filing a complaint with the Allahabad High Court chief justice and administrative judge in 2022, she alleges that no action was taken. Subsequently, she submitted a complaint to the internal complaints committee (ICC) of the high court in July 2023.

Expressing frustration with the slow progress of the inquiry, the woman judge disclosed that it took six months and a thousand emails just to initiate the investigation. She criticized the proposed inquiry as a "farce and a sham," pointing out that the witnesses involved are immediate subordinates of the district judge, creating a conflict of interest.

In a troubling revelation, the woman judge also indicated that she had attempted suicide in the past.