The Supreme Court (SC) panel probing a lawyer’s allegation that a recently-retired SC judge sexually harassed her in a Delhi hotel room during her internship last December has requested her to make a statement before it next week.
Chief Justice P Sathasivam had on Tuesday set up a three-judge panel comprising Justice RM Lodha, Justice HL Dattu and Justice Ranjana Prakash Desai to look into the allegations levelled in the young lawyer’s blog earlier this month. The panel held its first meeting on Wednesday.
“The committee decided to request her to appear before it on November 18,” said Ravindra Maithani, secretary general of the apex court.
The young woman, who cannot be named for legal reasons, blogged again to say that she would “depose only before the Hon’ble judges” since the committee had been constituted. She added that she would not speak to the media and hoped “all of you will understand my need for privacy.”
“I thank everyone who have been sending me supportive messages. I was particularly touched by the numerous messages which I received from girls who have been at the receiving end of sexual harassment themselves,” she wrote.