The National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) has taken suo motu cognisance of the alleged attempted rape and abuse of a woman employee by a judicial officer of the commercial court in Jhansi, U.P., on December 19 and has ordered an inquiry into why an FIR was not filed in the matter.
According to the proceedings on December 21, the NHRC said it received a complaint on Twitter alleging that a woman employee of the court was verbally abused and confined in the chambers by a judicial officer, who pointed “a revolver towards the victim and attempted to rape her”.
“The victim managed to escape somehow, but the accused followed her and locked her in another room. The victim called the police who rescued her. The victim is traumatised by the incident, and has submitted a written complaint on 19.12.2020 to the in-charge Inspector, PS Navabad, Jhansi, to register an FIR, but no FIR has been registered. The allegations are very grave,” the NHRC observed.
The Commission noted that the police must register an FIR in such cases under provisions of the Indian Penal Code. The NHRC directed its own Investigation Division to gather the facts from the authorities concerned as to why no FIR was lodged. The Commission also asked the Jhansi SSP to submit a detailed report on the matter within two weeks. The complaint was also sent to the Allahabad High Court’s Registrar General for placing the matter before the Chief Justice.
