After court intervention, the Gujarat National Law University (GNLU) announced the formation of a fact-finding committee to probe media reports on the alleged rape and homophobia incidents on the campus of the flagship legal studies institute.
In a letter by registrar Dr Jagadeesh Chandra TG to students, the university announced constituting the four-member committee led by former Gujarat DGP Keshav Kumar. The others in the team are GNLU faculty members Anjani Singh Tomar, Fakkiresh Sakkarnaikar, and Nidhi Buch.
The letter urged students to come forward and share information with the committee members for a confidential probe. They can send details to the email ID provided.
An Instagram post on September 19 mentioned rape and homophobia on the campus. The Gujarat high court ordered a probe taking cognizance of a media report. The university has so far maintained that no official complaint about the incidents has been received by authorities.
The HC took suo motu cognisance of allegations involving the rape of a woman student by a batch-mate and harassment of a queer student at the institute situated in Gandhinagar, asking the institute to submit a report.
The bench considered the seriousness of the allegations and the impact on students’ well-being, both psychologically and physically. The court criticised the inaction of the university’s internal complaints committee.
The HC directed the GNLU registrar and head of academic affairs to identify and record statements from the students involved. The statement of the woman student (the one who was allegedly raped) will be recorded by a woman professor. If the allegations are found credible, appropriate legal action will be taken promptly, the court said.
The court requested information on the internal committee members and the norms and standard operating procedures followed for handling complaints of ragging at GNLU. A PIL will be presented before the bench of the chief justice for further action.
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