The chief justice of India’s Supreme Court has been accused of sexually harassing a female assistant, and a special panel of judges called an emergency meeting on Saturday to address the allegations.

In an affidavit cited by several Indian news outlets, the assistant accused Chief Justice Ranjan Gogoi of unwanted touching and said her family was singled out for harsh retribution after she rebuffed him.

A statement from the court given to Indian news media said that the allegations were “completely and absolutely false and scurrilous and are totally denied”.

On Friday, the woman, who is in her 30s and worked as a junior court assistant, sent her detailed affidavit to more than 20 other Supreme Court judges. In the document, she claimed that in October, Mr Gogoi “hugged me around the waist, and touched me all over my body with his arms and by pressing his body against mine, and did not let go”.

She said: “He did not let go of me despite the fact that I froze and tried to get out of his embrace by stiffening and moving my body away.”

Inside India’s first elephant hospital Show all 20 1 /20 Inside India’s first elephant hospital Inside India’s first elephant hospital One of the rescued elephants takes a bath in the morning at the Wildlife SOS Elephant Hospital in Mathura, Uttar Pradesh. Wildlife SOS is a conservation nonprofit organisation in India working for animal welfare, elephant conservation and care EPA Inside India’s first elephant hospital A specialised ambulance designed to rescue elephants EPA Inside India’s first elephant hospital Gajraj, who was rescued from an Indian royal family, walks inside the treatment area EPA Inside India’s first elephant hospital Elephants are rescued from heartbreaking conditions in circuses, from street begging and from highway accidents EPA Inside India’s first elephant hospital Gajraj arrives for his treatment EPA Inside India’s first elephant hospital An elephant with the chronic foot disease and generalised infection EPA Inside India’s first elephant hospital A worker hoses one of the rescued elephants EPA Inside India’s first elephant hospital A volunteer feeds an elephant in the morning EPA Inside India’s first elephant hospital One of the rescued elephants takes a bath EPA Inside India’s first elephant hospital Tethering chains, iron hobbles and hooks, which were used to control captive elephants, on display EPA Inside India’s first elephant hospital Gajraj takes a mud bath EPA Inside India’s first elephant hospital Gajraj receives treatment at the hospital EPA Inside India’s first elephant hospital One of the elephants enjoys a meal of fruit and vegetables EPA Inside India’s first elephant hospital Senior veterinary officer Dr Yaduraj shows scans on the screen of a high-end X-ray device EPA Inside India’s first elephant hospital Volunteers scrub down an elephant as it takes a bath EPA Inside India’s first elephant hospital Rescued elephants at the hospital EPA Inside India’s first elephant hospital According to a World Animal Protection data, there are more than 3,000 elephants still in captivity in India, used for the tourism and leisure industry, and many of them are in need of proper care and attention EPA Inside India’s first elephant hospital One of the elephants receives medical treatment EPA Inside India’s first elephant hospital A rescued elephant has a snack EPA Inside India’s first elephant hospital A senior veterinary officer treats an elephant with chronic foot disease and generalised infection EPA

Soon afterward, she was fired, and her husband and brother-in-law, both police officers, were suspended from their jobs, the woman said.

The woman also said she was forced to apologise to the chief justice’s wife (even though she felt there was nothing to apologise for), and that she had to prostrate herself on the floor and rub her nose at the wife’s feet.

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The Supreme Court, a progressive counterweight to the recent rightward shift in Indian politics, is considered one of India’s most vital public institutions and is among its busiest, hearing up to 700 legal matters every day.

The court, which has about 25 judges, often steps in on behalf of minorities and women, issuing directives in lofty, sometimes even poetic language, pushing for greater equality and mutual respect.

At the emergency hearing Saturday, Mr Gogoi, 64, denied the allegations against him. According to a lawyer who provided notes from the hearing, the chief justice implied the allegations were part of a broader conspiracy and said “the judiciary of this country is under very, very serious threat”.

Mr Gogoi said he would not interfere with the investigation and that Arun Mishra, a senior Supreme Court judge, would handle the case. Mr Mishra was expected to set up a committee to look into the allegations in the coming days.