'Utterly Failed In Discharge Of His Duty': Gujarat High Court Criticises GNLU Director For Silence On Varsity's Stand In Campus Harassment Case

The Gujarat High Court has expressed displeasure at the director of Gujarat National Law University (GNLU) for his silence regarding the university's stance in court proceedings related to alleged harassment and sexual abuse on campus.

The Court disposed of the suo motu PIL on 1st May after accepting GNLU registrar's apology and assurance by the university to improve administration. However, the division bench comprising Chief Justice Sunita Agarwal and Justice Aniruddha Mayee questioned director S Shanthakumar's silence on the university's efforts to downplay the issue in the registrar's affidavit.

The division bench observed in its order, “we may record that the Director of the University is silent about the response of the University before this Court. It is difficult to comprehend that the Director was not aware of the stand taken in the affidavit of the in-charge Registrar. It was the duty of the Director to take things in his hands once cognizance was taken. We have, therefore, serious doubt about the role of the Director in submitting response of the University before this Court.”

“However, since the Governing Council of the University has reposed confidence in the Director in order to give one chance to him to make improvements, we do propose to say anything except that the Director of the University has utterly failed in discharge of his duty of submitting a proper response to this Court on behalf of the University. We, however, accept the unconditional apology of the In-charge Registrar,” the bench added.

The High Court had taken suo motu cognizance of a daily newspaper (Ahmedabad Mirror) report published on 22nd September 2023 of an incident relating to two students of GNLU.

Notably, according to the minutes of the Governing Council Meeting, the University has reconstituted the Women Cell and Gender Sensitization Committee for effective functioning and they have been given a clear mandate for conducting sensitization programmes throughout the year for all stake-holders.

Further the rules and regulations and the handbook along with the names and contact details of the members of the Internal Committee have been displayed on the website, and posters notifying the provisions against sexual harassment and consequences of sexual harassment have been displayed at 40 conspicuous places of the University.

The Court acknowledged the Fact Finding Report and the concerns expressed by the Committee regarding reported incidents. The Director assured the Governing Council that the University would take serious measures to prevent such incidents and deal sternly with offenders. In its 25th meeting on April 27, 2024, the Governing Council expressed confidence in the Director's response, affirming that appropriate decisions would be made by university authorities for the students' benefit and the institution's advancement.

The Court noted that its intervention served the public interest of the University students, with the Governing Council taking the matter seriously and implementing corrective measures.

“We hope and trust that the instructions issued by the Governing Council, the apex body of the University, shall be followed in their true letter and spirit by the Director, Faculty Members and the Members of the respective Administrative Committees of the University on the assurance given by them. We, therefore, find it proper to set the matter on rest,” the Court stated.

The Court emphasized, “We hope and trust that the Director and the Faculty Members will try to come out of their own biases and prejudices which they carry about any social issue by sensitizing themselves as well during such programmes, so that they may be able to win the confidence of the students for whom they are parents in a residential University.”

“Not a single incident disturbing the freedom of expression of any student (within the framework of law) or suppression of voice on any social and legal issue shall be tolerated. The suggestions of the Fact Finding Committee to improve the infrastructure of the University by providing safety measures shall be implemented immediately without waiting for the outcome of the report of the inquiry by the High Level Review Committee constituted by the Governing Council,” the Court added.

Senior counsel Kamal B. Trivedi assured the Court of the Governing Council's commitment to frequent and periodic supervision of the University's internal management to ensure promised corrective measures were implemented.

Accordingly, the Court dismissed the PIL.

Case Title: Suo Motu Versus Gujarat National Law University (Gnlu) & Anr.

LL Citation: 2024 LiveLaw (Guj) 66

Click Here To Read The Judgement