Law Student Sexually Harassed by Ex-Supreme Court Judge
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Gang rape protests: Asking for Justice?
Law student sexually harassed by ex-
Supreme Court judge: case is not unique,but speaking out is nearly impossibleBy Kian Ganz Monday, 11 November 2013, 13:16 Interviews
A law graduate who recently
blogged about how a retired
Supreme Court judge sexually
assaulted her while she was his
intern, says that the problem is real
and not uncommon amongst the
judiciary and senior bar but that
she sees few if any ways of
tackling it.
Stella James, who graduated from
NUJS Kolkata this year and now
works at the NGO Natural Justice,
Lawyers for Communities and the Environment, wrote about an alleged incident of
physical, sexual assault by an unnamed, retired Supreme Court judge in late 2012.
In a post that was published on the blog of the NUJS Journal of Indian Law and Society on
6 November , she wrote about trying to come to terms with her experience of 24 December
2012, Christmas Eve, ironically against the backdrop of the then-ongoing Delhi gang rape
protests:
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
wont go into the gory details, but suffice it to say that long after Id left
the room, the memory remained, in fact, still remains, with me.
Frankly I was really shocked, James tells Legally India in an interview today. Theres thisthing: a person who is a Supreme Court judge - you dont expect a Supreme Court judge to
harass somebody.
However, she says that her experience was neither uncommon, nor merely restricted to the
judiciary: Ive heard of three other cases [of sexual harassment] by the same judge and I
know of at least four other girls whove faced harassment from other judges - not perhaps as
[bad as mine]: most of them were in the chambers of the judge and other people around, so
it never gets too bad.
A girl I know faced continuous sexual harassment throughout and sexual advances, and
actually faced troubles through her work because of it. And she says shes heard of Supreme
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Court senior counsel who have made passes at or have continuously harassed interns for
longer periods.
And though it is barely, if at all, known outside legal circles, it is a bit of an open secret or
a big joke within the profession, particularly among clerks and women working in the
Supreme Court, according to James.
People in the Supreme Court kind of know, she says. I did my internship through the
college [recruitment process]. After beginning to share her experience with others in college,
however, James found that others had also faced similar problems with the same judge.
James reasons for not going public with the name of the judge or not lodging a formal
complaint are complex, both morally and practically. On the one hand, she wrote in the blog
post:
I bore, and still bear, no real ill-will towards the man, and had no desire
to put his lifes work and reputation in question. On the other hand, I felt
I had a responsibility to ensure that other young girls were not put in a
similar situation. But I have been unable to find a solution that allows
that. Despite the heated public debates, despite a vast army of feminist
vigilantes, despite new criminal laws and sexual harassment laws, I have
not found closure. The lack of such an alternative led to my facing acrippling sense of intellectual and moral helplessness.
Id worked for him for six months and he treated me really well for six months and has
been really kind to me, James explains. It was rather strange to me but I havent really
forgiven him for it [But] I dont know if I want to let myself - my impression of him as a
person - be entirely dictated by that act My leeway to him isnt because hes had a shining
career and all that - part of it is that [but] Im not really sure I want to ruin somebodys
entire life because of that.
Once it gets out in the open that hes harassed other girls, James says, people will only
look at him in that light.
However, James admits that one other strong reason, which was not really touched upon in
her blog post, was concern about whether legal action would even have any effect. James had
managed to reach two of the other young women who were harassed by the same judge but
neither were willing to come forward in public, mostly out of fear. They dont really want to
jeopordise their careers, James relates. Hes a Supreme Court judge. If its going to be his
word against our word, hes got more credibility, so to speak, of his words.
And she adds that if she by herself had wanted to take legal action, it would probably not
have been possible. There were no other witnesses, it was just me. It was a hotel room,
[people] saw me walking in voluntarily, saw me walking out very calmly. I didnt even walk
out [with] fear. At that moment I felt I needed to walk out very calmly. I never mentioned
anything the same day to anybody.
Apart from the evidentiary difficulty in proving the crime, the more serious problem for
lawyers is perhaps inherent in the profession itself. James said she had never heard of any
official harassment complaints within the legal profession or against any judges. And while
Legally India understands that sexual harassment complaints are at times made in law firms,
most are handled very delicately and quietly, with the firm encouraging informal resolution.
In courts, it is even worse, speculates James, in that there is usually no one you can
realistically complain to, unlike in a company or college structure where harassed by a boss
or lecturer, for example, and where she would have taken formal action in a similar incident.
Of course you can file a criminal complaint [against a judge or lawyer] but thats a whole
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NUJS prof Basheer
backs intern, calls for
college to protect
students from sexual
CJI constitutes 3-judge
commission to probe
ex-SC judge sexual
harassment allegation
Abolish 'My Lord' and
'Your Lordship'
'slavery symbols',
lawyer asks SC; Judge
different level. And it is also likely to impact your career.
I know a friend of mine who was sexually harassed at the Karnataka high court, says
James. That friend wasnt keeping it a secret and telling lawyer friends about why she left
the job with that senior, and for two months afterwards she wasnt able to find a job at the
same court, being asked about the incident in interviews after it dripped through the courts
grapevine (she eventually found a job after deciding to evade the issue at interviews).
The mindset in such cases often is, she created trouble for him, shell create trouble for us,
speculates James.
She says she was also skeptical about the Supreme Courts recently started sexual harassment
cell and guidelines improving matters considerably. It is often one persons word against
another persons word, and a lot of people tend not to take the word of a young lawyer
against a senior advocate whos made his reputation for 10 to 15 years. There is a balance
of power thing going on here.
The only thing that James has been able to do, other than write the blog, is discuss the
incident with members of her alma mater, possibly de-listing the judge from the recruitment
process so that others are not exposed to similar experiences.
While James does feel that colleges have a responsibility to protect their students, she
acknowledges that it could be difficult. The judge in question has been closely associated with
her former college for a while by giving lectures and regularly taking on research assistants,
so whether faculty can take unequivocal action is not certain.
Nevertheless, James says that potentially recruitment committees of colleges could make a
difference. I think at least there should be some way, if not publicly then at least
privately, kids who go intern with a judge should know that this has happened before.
James says that she was able to come forward, albeit without disclosing names, because of
her choice to work with an NGO with a possible view to entering academia at some point in
her career.
I was a little afraid, she admits. The other friends Ive spoken about, they are in positionswhere these judges play an important role [at the Supreme Court or teaching in a college
and they] are afraid of jeopardising their careers. I dont have such concerns here at Natural
Justice - I have a team thats incredibly supportive, and three colleagues were first to read
the blog post [before publication].
For me, the great thing is that Im in an organisation where I know that if I come out in
public about it, we are 25 people, and Im pretty sure Ill have the entire team behind me.
That lawyers elsewhere are unlikely or unable to protect their own from sexual harassment, is
a problem the profession will have to deal with sooner rather than later.
Update 12 November: The Chief Justice of India has decided to institute a three-memberjudicial committee to probe the allegation.
Photo by Soumyaroop Chatterjee
More about: Judiciary, Senior Counsel, Sexual Harassment, Supreme Court, The Bench
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