Magistrate Raj Malhotra stood down over sex assault claims

A MAGISTRATE has been stood down amid serious sexual assault allegations exposed by the Herald Sun.

Mr Malhotra is accused of groping a young woman at a court Christmas function. Picture: Supplied

A MAGISTRATE has been stood down amid serious sexual assault allegations exposed by the Herald Sun.

Almost three months after allegations of sexual misconduct first surfaced, Magistrate Raj Malhotra has now been stood down.

Chief Magistrate Peter Lauritsen had allowed Mr Malhotra to continue working but acted after his case was escalated by the Judicial Commission of Victoria.

Mr Malhotra is accused of groping a young woman’s buttocks and telling her he “loved her” after a night of drinking at a court Christmas function last year

There are also allegations that he incited violence by ­asking a member of the public to attack a male staffer whom he described as a “c---”.

The Herald Sun is not suggesting Mr Malhotra is guilty, only that the allegation is being investigated.

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Before being appointed to the bench, Mr Malhotra worked in senior positions at a number of government agencies both locally and interstate.

Attorney-General Martin Pakula took the extraordinary step of referring the magistrate, one of his own appointments, to the Judical Commission of Victoria.

It was the first referral Mr Pakula made to the commission, an independent body set up to investigate complaints about judicial officers, since it started in July.

In a statement today the commission said it had decided to refer his case, and another, to an investigating panel.

It said an investigating panel had been appointed comprising two senior retired judges and a non legal person of high standing in the community selected from the pool of persons appointed by the Governor in Council.

“The role of the investigating panel is to investigate the matters referred to it by the Judicial Commission,” it said.

Following its investigation, in relation to each referral, the investigating panel must either dismiss the referral, refer it to the Chief Magistrate of if it forms an opinion that facts exist which could warrant the removal of the

Magistrate, prepare a report for the Governor.

Following the allegations the Herald Sun revealed, Mr Malhotra had been blocked from working with females just months after starting in the job.

Court insiders said senior figures were forced to act after complaints from female clerks about the magistrate.

“They just couldn’t work with him,” a source said.

“There were complaints of bullying and sexual innuendos,” they said.

It is understood senior court officials ordered that female clerks were not to be rostered to work in the magistrate’s court because of concerns about his treatment of them.

Senior court staff have been left furious by the magistrate’s alleged behaviour, with one saying the allegations were “the tip of the iceberg”.

In a statement from Mr Lauritsen today, he said he only acted to stand Mr Malhotra down on advice from the commission.

“Today the Judicial Commission of Victoria issued a public statement. It advised that I accepted its recommendation to stand down a magistrate, and have done so,” he said.

“It also advised of the appointment of an Investigating Panel

“I do not propose to make any further statement until the work of the Investigating Panel is finished.”

Shadow attorney-general John Pesutto said: “It has taken quite a long time to reach this point, particularly as protecting the Court’s standing and reputation must always be of the highest priority.

“These events raise legitimate questions about the process the Andrews Government has adopted in making judicial appointments.

“The findings of any investigation into this matter in light of the Government’s appointments process should be made public as far as possible.”

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