High Court Probes Sexual Assault Of Lawyer By ADJ; FIR Registered After Lawyer Accuses Judge Of Leaking CCTV Footage
The Punjab and Haryana High Court has probed the complaint of a woman Advocate from Bhiwani who had registered a case against Additional District Judge (ADJ) Vivek Nasir Of Bhiwani and a lawyer of the Bhiwani Bar Association for sexually harassing and outraging the modesty of a woman advocate in the court premises.
The lady lawyer has also alleged that pursuant to her complaint before the Sessions Judge about the incident, the CCTV footage of the incident has been leaked by the ADJ and the same has become viral. It is with respect to the said alleged release of the CCTV footage that the lawyer has now approached the Police and an FIR has been registered.
The FIR was registered under Section 67 of the Information Technology Act, 2008, Sections 34, 354-A, and 509 of the Indian Penal Code, 1860.
The Judge has been suspended since August 21, 2022.
The incident took place when the Complainant was walking through the corridors of the District Court complex, along with her junior. The ADJ had beckoned the Complainant towards him after she had customarily greeted him.
He placed his hand on her shoulder to pull her towards him and touched her cheek and hair. According to the Complainant, he smelt of alcohol and asked her to meet him in his chamber, while also inquiring about her junior female advocate.
The Complainant approached the Sessions Judge to lodge a formal complaint. In response, the Sessions Judge forwarded the complaint to the Punjab & Haryana Pradesh High Court, along with a copy of the CCTV footage in which the incident had been recorded.
During the inquiry proceedings, a copy of the footage was made available to the (suspended) ADJ. According to the Complainant, the ADJ connived with a lawyer to leak the footage on social media, with the intention of tarnishing the Complainant's reputation and discrediting her.
Following the same, the Complainant decided to file a police complaint. In the complaint, she expressed fear for her personal safety and well-being, considering the power imbalance between the accused and the victim. The lawyer has alleged that the video has been deliberately leaked to tarnish her reputation.
