‘Reconstitutes Committee to Probe Rape and Harassment Allegations’, GNLU Informs HC

The Gujarat National Law University (GNLU) in Gandhinagar has informed the High Court that it has reconstituted its fact-finding committee (FFC) to investigate allegations of harassment of a queer student and the rape of a female student by a fellow student.

A division bench of Chief Justice Sunita Agarwal and Justice Aniruddha P Mayee, was hearing a suo motu public interest litigation (PIL) based on a newspaper report regarding these incidents. In an affidavit submitted to the court, GNLU stated that it had reconstituted both the FFC and the internal complaint committee (ICC) in accordance with the court’s instructions.

The university asserted its commitment to raising awareness among students about gender issues and emphasized its zero-tolerance policy for sexual harassment or any violations of students’ dignity.

The court has adjourned the hearing to the third week of December and directed GNLU to submit an affidavit upon concluding the inquiry and taking appropriate action. During the previous hearing on October 11, the court had strongly reprimanded the university for failing to conduct an inquiry into the incident and had instructed it to reconstitute both the FFC and ICC, which were found to be non-functional.

According to a newspaper report from September 22, a male student at GNLU, who identified as queer, had experienced harassment on campus due to his gender identity. Additionally, a female student had accused a fellow student of raping her.

The court had previously noted that the university’s ICC was not functioning, and its spokesperson claimed to have not received any formal complaints about the incidents.

Consequently, the court directed the university to record statements from the two students and take legal action if the allegations appeared to be genuine.