Gujarat High Court Directs GNLU Registrar To Apologize For Mishandling Rape Allegation Case

The Gujarat High Court has directed the Registrar of Gujarat National Law University (GNLU) to submit an apology for initially failing to file a complaint and subsequently submitting an affidavit to the Court, claiming that nothing had occurred and urging the Court to close the matter over allegations of rape.

During a previous hearing on February 28, the Court had verbally remarked, “Its registrar filed an affidavit before us saying nothing happened and asked us to close the matter and he had the audacity to say this before us when the court was seized with the matter.”

The Division Bench of the High Court on 29.04.2024, comprising Chief Justice Sunita Agarwal and Justice Aniruddha P. Mayee was hearing a suo motu Public Interest Litigation (PIL) pertaining to rape allegations by a second-year law student against her batchmate.

Expressing dissatisfaction, Chief Justice Agarwal emphasized, “We are not saying you suspend him. At least, initiate an inquiry. Understand what he was supposed to do. He's an officer of the university. He was not supposed to behave like this, and the way he responded to this Court, that was very very … he has not even submitted an apology to us”

In response, the Advocate General assured the Court that he would ensure an immediate apology on behalf of the registrar.

In the last hearing on April 4, the Court had instructed the State to provide an action taken report. During this hearing, Advocate General Kamal Trivedi informed the bench that the recruitment process for the registrar was underway.

The Advocate General provided updates on the university's actions. He mentioned that the recruitment process for the registrar's position was underway, with advertisements published in prominent newspapers, including TOI and Indian Express, inviting applications. The deadline for applications is May 6.

Trivedi also provided updates on the actions taken by the university, including the appointment of a subcommittee and the formation of a new Internal Complaints Committee (ICC).

In a reassuring statement, the AG expressed, “I can assure milords, my lords have succeeded in awakening all the authorities. We've awakened … We will meet every month regularly to see what is being promised are being implemented or not”

He further emphasized the pressing need to address the concerns raised, stating, “My anxiety is at stake. Students are Ina state of confusion. Faculty is absolutely subdued. I would like to see that they are taken out of this”

The AG further informed the Court that he had devised an innovative approach i.e., the blind Google Drive method, under which all the students of the University were provided with anonymous forms, ensuring their responses would remain confidential. Initially, only 11 responses were received, prompting a one-month extension, resulting in an additional 23 responses, the AG informed.

In response to this strategy, the Chief Justice emphasized the importance of fostering trust among the student body. She stated, “They are the students of law. If the students of law are not able to voice their concerns then how will they speak for others. They're supposed to speak for others. So that is our concern. ... Creating these kind of sessions by newly constituted ICC, sessions for the students (should) help them to open up and build confidence amongst them, and the addressing all those issues which are generally coming up in this age group amongst the students”

Furthermore, the Chief Justice stressed, “Since they are law students, they should be taught about the concept of inclusiveness in society. They are the flag bearers of the concept of inclusiveness. … Law students should be those who can raise their voice against anyone. They should not be having any kind of fear. Like in NUJS, students are managing the entire college and they can raise their voice against the director. Anything happens, they sit in dharna. They should be given this kind of environment.”

“If law students would not be taught about these concepts then who else? This is the age for them to understand the concept. The idea is that if they are not aware of this concept at this age, they will carry their own prejudices and biases throughout and we will be getting judges and judicial officers from them. I'm worried about that,” she added.

The matter has been adjourned to 1 May for further hearing.

Before departing, the Attorney General provided assurance to the Court, stating that the Executive Council would convene monthly to present reports to the General Council. Additionally, he emphasized that all actions taken would be presented before the high-level review committee.

In response, the Chief Justice requested these assurances to be formalized in the registrar's affidavit. Furthermore, she urged for personal affidavits from both the Director and the Registrar to be filed.