Sexual harassment by ex-SC judge: Are complicity and silence the real problem?

Even as the Supreme Court has taken serious note of the alleged sexual harassment of a young female law intern by a former SC judge, questions are being raised about the complicity and silence of the legal profession when it comes to matters relating to its own fellow brethren. Speaking to CNN-IBN, Indira Jaising, Additional Solicitor General, said,“It’s shown us the red flag. Now it is about the accountability of the judiciary. There is no transparency in the appointment, conduct and manner of functioning of judges.” [caption id=“attachment_1225951” align=“alignleft” width=“380”] Supreme Court. AFP.[/caption] The apex court has instituted a three judge committee to probe the incident. The committee formed by the apex court will consist of three senior judges—RM Lodha, HL Dattu and Ranjana P Desai—and will start work from today evening. However, Nandita Rao, lawyer in the Supreme Court, said that the committee was not required because there was already a sexual harassment cell in SC that should have been energized. She said, “Why did this ad-hoc measure be made? What is this business of appointing a committee? Why have they not taken suo-moto action?” According to her, even in the sexual harassment committee there needs to be one female member and therefore they could have easily dealt with the case. Moreover no formal complaint needs to be registered for a sexual violence case, Rao said. It is important to note that there was indeed no formal complaint that was made and CJI took action after reading the blog post by Stella James, who graduated from Kolkata’s National University of Juridical Sciences, where she wrote that the incident took place last December, during the time of the Delhi gang-rape protests. She wrote in her blog, “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.” You can read the entire blog here . However senior lawyer Sanjay Hegde argued that this incident may not be dealt with SC sexual harassment cell as the incident happened in a hotel room, and that technically does not constitute workplace. “This is a case involving a retired judge in a hotel room. This does not constitute workplace. Is this the jurisdiction of the committee for sexual harassment at workplace?,” he said. But human rights lawyer Vrinda Grover vehemently disagreed. She said, “As long as it is associated with work then physical premises does not matter. Work place travels with you with respect to your work.” She also said that his professional position does matter because it is on the dint of that position that he trains interns in the profession. “Most retired judges hold some kind of statutory office. We cannot discount the fact that the person carries authority. The intern is working because he is a former SC judge,” Grover said. However the real problem seems to be, like most women lawyers confess, one of a sexually discriminative culture in the legal profession. Like Rao pointed out that this incident may not be an isolated case. “The legal system has asymmetrical power. This is not an isolated case. We (the female lawyers of SC) are at least bar members and yet we are called lady members. Interns are even less powerful,” she said. According to Grover, the culture needs to be changed first. “How we will change the practice in the courtroom will determine lots of things. The comments that have been made by several lawyers in and out of court (with respect to this alleged case of sexual harassment) need to be changed. There are instances where female interns are discouraged from filing complaints.” The bottom line is, according to Grover, that we need to acknowledge the violence of women everywhere. Even within the legal system - where power rests with the senior judges who can turn adversarial if you take steps against them. “We did not provide her the conditions to walk up and complain. The issue continues to be swept under the carpet. And remember, she is with an NGO and not in litigation anymore.”

Sexual harassment by ex-SC judge: Are complicity and silence the real problem?

Even as the Supreme Court has taken serious note of the alleged sexual harassment of a young female legal intern by a former SC judge, questions are being raised about the complicity and silence of the legal profession when it comes to matters relating to its own fellow brethren.

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