A public prosecutor in Mumbai has accused two defence lawyers of sexual misconduct during court hearings, The Indian Express reported on Wednesday. She said the lawyers touched her inappropriately twice in the last two weeks when she was arguing her case.
In her complaint, the woman said one of the lawyers refused to move aside during the hearing in a case on Saturday even after she asked him to give her space as he was touching her inappropriately. She continued her arguments, but made the complaint on the next working day, Monday.
She submitted her complaint to the sessions court judge who was presiding over the hearing during which the alleged incidents took place. She has requested for an inquiry by an internal complaints committee mandated under the Sexual Harassment of Women at Workplace (Prevention, Prohibition and Redressal) Act, 2013.
She said she was making the complaint before the judge since the incident took place in the courtroom and she could not find any provisions on the internal complaints committee in the sessions court. The law requires workplaces to set up committees of at least four members to conduct inquiry into complaints of sexual harassment.
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