JNUSU alleges violation of rules in the investigation of a sexual harassment complaint filed by 47 students

Last update:October 27, 2024, 3:25 pm EST

In a letter to vice-chancellor Santishree Dhulipudi Pandit, the Jawaharlal Nehru University Students’ Union (JNUSU) accused the commission of diluting the matter by treating it as an “individual complaint” rather than a collective complaint.

In its letter, JNUSU called for stringent action against those responsible for the alleged procedural violations. (Photo file)

The JNUSU has alleged a breach of procedure in its investigation into a sexual harassment complaint lodged by 47 female students with the University’s Internal Complaints Committee (ICC) after freshers admission.

In a letter to vice-chancellor Santishree Dhulipudi Pandit, the Jawaharlal Nehru University Students’ Union (JNUSU) accused the commission of diluting the matter by treating it as an “individual complaint” rather than a collective complaint.

The union said 47 female students from the Center for the Study of Social Systems (CSSS) filed a collective complaint to the ICC on Wednesday over alleged sexual harassment and violence during a CSSS freshmen event at the Convention Center on Tuesday (Oct. 22).

However, the complainants were informed that chairperson Vandana Mishra would not meet with all the survivors and asked them to nominate five representatives to present the case, the union said.

JNUSU said in Friday’s letter that four student representatives showed up late during Thursday’s ICC meeting, which ICC members tried to intimidate the lone complainant by pressuring her to testify privately.

The union said it was an attempt to break the collective nature of the complaint. “Survivors do not agree that the complaint was filed collectively, but have attempted to break it down into five individual incidents of harassment,” the letter reads.

According to JNUSU, while testifying, the complainant was asked “irrelevant and intimidating questions” such as: “Why didn’t you go to the president of your center first?” and “Who told you about the ICC process?” The letter went on to say: “These questions do not concern the jurisdiction of the ICC and were intended to threaten and obtain information from the survivors about the case in order to weaken our case.” The union also raised concerns that a staff member recorded video of the complainant during a confidential meeting, which compromised her anonymity.

JNUSU representatives and CSSS students intervened, demanding that a JNUSU representative be allowed to participate in survivors’ testimonies, that a restraining order be issued without naming the survivors, and that the complaint be treated as a collective complaint. They also insisted that any videos recorded during the confidential meeting be immediately deleted.

However, Mishra reportedly rejected these requests and brought in outside personnel from the Campus Security Office (CSO), which JNUSU said was an attempt to “shield” the accused.

“This was a clear case of victim blaming and an attempt to protect the perpetrators,” the union said, adding that it had demanded Mishra’s removal as ICC chairman.

In the letter, JNUSU called for stringent action against those responsible for the alleged procedural violations. The union also urged the university administration to ensure a fair and transparent investigation process, advocating for the presence of a student representative from the Gender Sensitization Committee against Sexual Harassment (GSCASH) during all proceedings.

There was no immediate reaction to the JNU vice-chancellor’s allegations.

ICC chairman Mishra said the commission “follows all procedures.”

(This story has not been edited by News18 staff and is published from a news agency feed – PTI)