Allegations on CJI: Complainant feel scared, terrified

A former Supreme Court employee, who filed a sexual harassment complaint against the CJI, on Monday said she was "extremely scared and terrified".

After the clean chit having been given to the CJI by the in-house inquiry committee, she said she would consult her lawyer to decide on next steps.

She said the committee, despite having all material, appeared to have "given me no justice or protection" and said "nothing about the absolutely malafide dismissals and suspensions, indignities and humiliations suffered by me and my family".

"I and my family members remain vulnerable to the ongoing reprisals and attack," she feared.

She, her husband, a Delhi police constable and her brother-in-law were dismissed from services and faced criminal cases.

"I am alarmed at the conclusion, as my accusation of sexual harassment at the workplace and the consequent relentless victimization and reprisals against me and my family, are substantiated by documents and are verifiable," she asserted in a statement.

"Today, I am at the verge of losing faith in the capacity of our system to deliver justice to the weak and vulnerable who are pitted against the powerful within the system itself," she said.

The 35-year-old woman, who worked as lower division clerk at CJI's residence, said she had expressed serious concerns and reservations from the very beginning that the manner in which the proceedings were being conducted would not "mitigate the stark asymmetry of power between me and the CJI".

She said she was not aware if any of the persons named in her complaint, including the SHO, were called for their evidence. She said the SHO took her to CJI's residence to apologise to her wife in a "humiliating manner".

The complainant also claimed she had submitted a video recording of her interaction with the SHO.

"I do not even know whether the call records of the CJI or the Secretary-General were called for by the committee which would substantiate some of the facts," her statement read.

She said she was already condemned by the CJI and colleague judges "in an extraordinary suo moto hearing which took place on April 20, 2019, where accusations were made upon her character in her absence.

"I was compelled to walk out of the Committee as it did not accede her request for a fair hearing," she said.