The Calcutta High Court in a recent order directed the local committee of North 24-Parganas to re-examine the complaint lodge by a professor of the West Bengal National University of Juridical Sciences (WBNUJS) against the institution Vice Chancellor.
The committee on March 5, 2024, had rejected the complaint filed by the professor under Sexual Harassment at Workplace (Prevention, Prohibition and Redressal) Act, 2023.
Justice Kaushik Chanda of the Calcutta High Court in the order stated, “....in my view, the order dated March 5, passed by the local area committee is not sustainable and accordingly the same is set aside with a direction upon the local committee to conclude the proceedings initiated on the complaint of the petitioner.”
In the 14 page order dated May 22 the court noted that the petitioner in her compliant dated December 26, 2023, has alleged various incidents between September 2019 and December 2023. The allegations include threatening the petitioner to withhold her promotion since she did not accept the opportunity of a personal friendship with him.
Advocates representing the WBNUJS stated before the court that the alleged incidents of victimisation have no nexus with the sexual harassment and insisted that the local committee’s findings should not be interfered with by the court.
Meanwhile, the Student Juridical Association of WBNUJS has issued a letter addressed to Chief Justice of India, who is also the Chancellor of the institute expressing solidarity with the complainant.
“We strongly condemn the presumption of falseness made regarding the associate professor’s complaints and deliberate attempts by the vice-chancellor to circumvent the appropriate legal procedure by abusing his position of power. These alleged actions constitute blatant patriarchal exploitation and an attempt to undermine the associate professor’s respect and dignity at her workplace,” the letter dated May 25 read.
The students’ association demanded several measures, including an unbiased investigation against the vice-chancellor and that no “extension be granted to him for the position of vice-chancellor”.
