Though even after 75 years of Independence the representation of women both at the Bar and the Bench has been meager, we have numerous examples of women who have fought all odds to emerge as a winner in this male-dominated profession and who have made a name for themselves. This column is an ode to such fighters.
JUSTICE MANJU RANI CHAUHAN
Born on 29th August, 1966, Justice Manju Rani Chauhan graduated in law from the Allahabad University. She enrolled as an advocate with the Bar Council of Uttar Pradesh in November 1995, and practiced on the Civil, Criminal, Service and Education and Miscellaneous side. She worked on the panel of the State Government, and represented the Allahabad Development Authority, Allahabad and Gas Authority of India.
On 22nd November, 2018, Justice Chauhan was appointed as an Additional Judge of the Allahabad High Court, and on 20th November, 2020, she took oath as a Permanent Judge of that High Court.
Justice Chauhan gained public attention in 2019, as she was a judge in several widely publicised cases. She was part of a Bench charged by the Supreme Court with monitoring a widely reported investigation into allegations of rape made by a student against BJP politician Chinmayanand. In September 2019, she refused to grant the student protection from arrest after Chinmayanand filed a complaint against her, alleging that she had been trying to extort money from him.
In September 2019, Justice Chauhan temporarily barred the arrest of Samajwadi Party politician and Member of Parliament Azam Khan, in connection with a case relating to allegations of illegal acquisition of farmland. She also directed BJP politician and Bollywood actress Jaya Prada, who had been involved in the case, to respond to statements from Khan’s lawyers that the allegations were false.
In October 2020, Justice Chauhan quashed a case of rape and allowed the parties to arrive at a settlement, despite a Supreme Court order disallowing settlements in rape cases. The victim who had filed the case made a statement before the court that she was willing to withdraw her allegations as she had since been married to the accused. Justice Chauhan’s decision is among several High Court orders that have allowed cases of rape to be settled between parties instead of being prosecuted under the criminal law.
