JNUSU alleges violations in investigation into sexual harassment complaint by 47 students

Last updated:Oct 27, 2024 3:25 PM IST

In a letter to Vice Chancellor Santishree Dhulipudi Pandit, the Jawaharlal Nehru University Students’ Union (JNUSU) has accused the committee of diluting the matter by treating it as an ‘individual complaint’ instead of a collective complaint.

In the letter, JNUSU called for strict action against those responsible for the alleged procedural violations. (File photo)

The JNUSU has alleged procedural violations in the investigation into a sexual harassment complaint filed by 47 female students with the varsity’s Internal Complaints Committee (ICC) after a freshers’ party.

In a letter to Vice Chancellor Santishree Dhulipudi Pandit, the Jawaharlal Nehru University Students’ Union (JNUSU) has accused the committee of diluting the matter by treating it as an “individual complaint” instead of a collective complaint.

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

However, the complainants were told that chairman Vandana Mishra would not meet all the survivors together and asked them to appoint five representatives to argue the case, the union said.

During the ICC meeting on Thursday, four student representatives arrived late, which the ICC members took advantage of and tried to intimidate the sole complainant and pressure her into making a private statement, the JNUSU alleged in its letter on Friday.

The union said this was an attempt to break the collective nature of the complaint. “The survivors disagree because the complaint was filed collectively, but they attempted to dilute it into five individual cases of harassment,” the letter said.

According to JNUSU, during the deposition, the complainant was allegedly asked “irrelevant and intimidating questions” such as: “Why didn’t you go to the chairman of your center first?” and “Who told you about the ICC process?” The letter further stated: “These questions do not relate to the jurisdiction of the ICC, and were intended to threaten the survivors and obtain information from it about the case, in order to weaken our case.” The union also raised concerns that a staff member had recorded a video of the complainant during the confidential session, compromising her anonymity.

JNUSU representatives and CSSS students intervened, demanding that a JNUSU representative be allowed to participate in the survivors’ statements, that a restraining order be issued without naming the survivors, and that the complaint be filed as a collective complaint are treated. They also urged that all videos taken during the confidential meeting be deleted immediately.

However, Mishra reportedly rejected these requests and roped in external staff from the Campus Security Office (CSO), which JNUSU claimed was an attempt to ‘protect’ the suspect.

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

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

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

ICC chairman Mishra said the committee is “following all procedures”.

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