Mumbai: “Idiots are lined up at every step and people are highly insensitive towards our sufferings," says IAS officer Riju Bafna in her Facebook post frustrated by her experience with the judiciary.
The officer was recording her statement in relation with a sexual harassment case, when she was faced with the unwarranted treatment from one of the advocates present.
"Today, I went to give my statement to the Judicial Magistrate. While I was giving my statement, an advocate named Lalit Sharma was standing next, overhearing my statement, along with others in the court, I asked the judicial magistrate to ask others to leave as I was uncomfortable giving my statement in front of so many people. On saying this, Lalit Sharma started shouting at me, saying 'how dare you suggest me to leave, I am an advocate here and you might be an officer in your office but not in the Court'," she said in her post.
She further continued, "I told him that the privacy I am demanding is not as an IAS officer but as a woman and laws provide me with that. He started arguing and eventually left. Such is the state of affairs for women in this country."
Riju had filed a complaint against the Aayogmitra of MP Human Rights Commission for sending her indecent messages. An FIR was registered against him and criminal action was being pursued against him regarding which she had to record her statement with the Judicial Magistrate.
Later when she reminded the JM that statements of victims under such cases should be recorded in private, she was told that she was demanding such things because she was young.
"If you are born in this country, better prepare yourself for struggle at every step," she said.
She ended her post with the comment -"I can only pray that no woman is born in this country," but later on edited out the sentence. In a clarification, she later wrote another post saying "In my previous post, there was a line about women not being born in the country. I wrote that line in the spur of moment and I regret blaming the country for the fault of individuals. Indeed, I had edited the fb post later."
