Litigant threatens suicide before Supreme Court; Accuses sitting Delhi High Court judge of sending obscene messages

A Delhi-based doctor, Dr. Meena Chaudhary, has threatened to commit suicide if the Supreme Court refused to hear petition reports The Telegraph. On June 17, Chaudhary had approached the Apex Court seeking to quash criminal proceedings in an alleged case of power theft..It was Chaudhary’s contention that the criminal proceedings were initiated at the behest of a sitting judge of the Delhi High Court, the same judge who had allegedly sent her obscene text messages when she was a litigant before the High Court..When asked by the Bench why Chaudhary had not approached the Delhi High Court first, she replied that, “a senior judicial officer has made my life miserable”. As per the news report, Chaudhary further claimed that she had filed maintenance suit against her husband before the Delhi High Court, and it was the judge hearing this matter that had sent her the obscene messages..Dr. Chaudhary also informed the Bench of Justices A.K. Patnaik and Ranjan Gogoi that she would end her life, if the Bench did not hear the matter. She reportedly said that,.I don’t want to go back to Delhi High Court. Otherwise, I will commit suicide and I mean it..In response, the Bench stated that notice would be issued to the Respondents and that the matter would be heard on the following Monday. The Supreme Court website however indicates that the matter will be heard on Wednesday, June 26. This is not the first time such an incident has taken place in Indian courts. Earlier this year, a litigant before the Gujarat High Court had threatened to commit suicide within court premises after the court adjourned the trial..However unlike the rape victim, this is not Dr. Chaudhary’s first brush with the judicial system. In 2009, the Delhi High Court disposed of a writ petition filed by Chaudhary, a petition in which Chaudhary had sought, amongst other things, the right to reside in her matrimonial house. In 2010, the High Court dismissed a writ petition wherein Chaudhary alleged that a false case of electricity theft was made out against her. While dismissing the petition, the High Court stated that Chaudhary should first approach the civil courts..With respect to the claim made in the news report that Chaudhary’s husband was residing with another woman in the UK without there being a formal decree of divorce, hereto there appears to be an element of confusion. On January 25, 2012 a Division Bench of the High Court observed that Chaudhary had in fact, obtained a formal decree of divorce..Apart from the peculiar facts of the case, what will also be interesting to see is whether the Apex Court addresses the issue of maintainability of the petition, given the Bench’s initial reaction. Another question, which may or may not be answered, is the veracity of Chaudhary’s claims with respect to the High Court judge.