Describing the findings of a committee which looked into the allegations of harassment of a queer student and rape of a female student at Gujarat National Law University (GNLU), the Gujarat High Court labeled the incident as “scary” on Wednesday, February 28.
A division bench of Chief Justice Sunita Agarwal and Justice Aniruddha P Mayee expressed shock at "incidents of molestation, rape, discrimination, homophobia, favouritism, suppression of voices" going on at the Gandhinagar-based institute, said a report by PTI.
"This report is really scary," said the court, hearing a suo motu Public Interest Litigation (PIL) based on a newspaper report dated September 22, 2023.
As per the newspaper, a male student of GNLU suffered mental trauma due to the harassment meted out to him only for the reason of being a queer, while a female student had accused a batchmate of raping her.
The court had earlier directed the institute to reconstitute its fact-finding committee, set up to inquire into the alleged incidents. The new committee was headed by Justice (retired) Harsha Devani of the high court.
As per PTI, one of the victims categorically stated that "a politically influential person" was trying to ensure that no police complaint was made, and an Instagram post about the alleged atrocities was forcibly removed through the intervention of GNLU and faculty warden of the girls' college.
GNLU objected to the Instagram posts which brought to light the ordeal faced by the two students, and adopted an adversarial approach towards them, the court observed.
"That is the scariest part of the report. After parents, teachers and faculty in a residential college play the role of parents. They have taken the post as something meant to tarnish the image of the university," it said.
"It was so difficult for them (the students) to speak (to the committee members). They are students of law, they are supposed to help others to hear their voices. All these lectures, talks, seminars. everything goes to rubbish, it has no meaning at all," the court added.
A competent authority should consider the fact-finding report, the high court said. The matter has further been posted to March 12, added PTI.
The fact-finding report also mentions allegations against certain faculty members, the registrar and the director of the institute which needs a high-level inquiry, the judges said.
