Sathyamangalam Judicial Magistrate suspended on abuse charge

The Sathyamangalam Judicial Magistrate R Rajavelu, 38, was issued with a suspension order by Principal District Judge N Uma Maheswari and chief Judicial Magistrate B Mohan.

“The woman advocate had filed a complaint of sexual harassment with audio clips as evidence to the district judge. She alleged that the magistrate made sexual advances with her and harassed her,” said C Parthiban, president of Sathyamangalam Bar Association.

He added that the exact nature of the complaint and circumstances, in which the advocate was harassed was not known.

“As the charges were found to be true during a preliminary inquiry, the complaint was forwarded to the Madras High Court. Acting on the instructions of the High Court, the magistrate was placed under suspension. Further action will be taken following a detailed inquiry,” he added.

An inquiry is likely to be conducted by a panel of Madras High Court judges before initiating further action. He was earlier serving in JM VI in Coimbatore and was posted in Sathyamangalam only five months ago.

“Even during his stint in Coimbatore, Rajavelu was facing many similar complaints including corruption. The advocate’s event boycotted the court protesting against him and subsequently, he was transferred here five months ago. Only after this issue surfaced, many advocates said that they too have sent petitions against him on various issues,” he said.

The Bar Association President said that this is the first time a magistrate is facing stringent action in any of the Western districts on a sexual harassment case.