Taking note of Facebook posts by a probationer IAS officer detailing her “traumatic” experience with the judiciary after she filed a case of sexual harassment, the Madhya Pradesh government on Tuesday said it would approach the high court with a request for an appropriate response. On August 1, when the officer Riju Bafna sought privacy to record her statement under Section 164 before a judicial magistrate, Seoni, a senior lawyer reportedly tried to bully her by arguing against leaving the court premises. Later, the magistrate said she had expectations about privacy because she was young, and would not do so (in future) once she gets to know the system and courts, she claimed. The officer was recording her statement in connection with a case about indecent text messages she had received a week before. [related-post] The 2014 batch officer, who was posted in Seoni less than a month ago, had accused Aayogmitra of the MP Human Rights Commission, Santosh Choubey, of sending indecent text messages to her. Choubey was suspended after the matter was brought to the notice of District Collector Bharat Yadav. The accused was arrested and released on bail. Minister Narottam Mishra said the government planned to bring the incident to the knowledge of the registrar general of the high court. In her Facebook post, while commenting about her experience with advocate Lalit Sharma and the judicial magistrate, the officer said: “Idiots are lined up at every step and people are highly insensitive towards our sufferings. If you are born in this country, better prepare yourself for struggle at every step.’’ After her post went viral, she apologised saying, “I wrote that line in the spur of the moment and I regret blaming the country for the fault of individuals.’’ But even in her apology, Bafna described her experience as traumatic and horrible. She said she was uncomfortable in recording her statement in front of so many people and wanted the magistrate to ask those who were not connected with the case to leave the premises. She added that the magistrate stayed silent during the entire incident, but after she had recorded her statement he said that she was young, a new recruit on first posting, which is why she had expectations of privacy. “I would get to know the system and courts with time and do away with such demands,’’ the IAS officer posted. Advocate Sharma, however, said that he was in the court to argue some other case when the officer came and asked him to leave to which he objected. Bafna argued that she had demanded privacy as a woman and not as an IAS officer, and laws provide for it. Collector Yadav said that Bafna gave him a representation on Tuesday which was forwarded to relevant authorities, including the bar council and the registrar general of the high court.
