A student of Jawaharlal Nehru University (JNU) filed a harassment complaint at Vasant Kunj Police station on October 28 against a member of the faculty for an incident that took place on October 10.
The JNU Students’ Union (JNUSU) alleged on Wednesday evening that the Delhi Police filed a first information report only after four days of pressure.
The police have registered a case under Sections 354 (assault or criminal force to woman with intent to outrage her modesty), 323 (punishment for voluntarily causing hurt) and 509 (word, gesture or act intended to insult the modesty of a woman) of the Indian Penal Code.
‘Violation of law’
The JNUSU said the police forwarded the complaint to the Internal Complaints Committee (ICC) of the university instead of filing an FIR immediately.
This, it said, was “clear violation of law as it was the duty of the police to act on the complaint and not forward it to the institution where the complainant does not trust the process due to influence of the administration”.
Identity revealed
The JNUSU added that the police revealed the identity of the complainant to the administration by doing so. Condemning the Delhi Police, members of the union said they had no faith in the ICC as it is not a democratically formed body.
The students’ union called for restoration of the autonomous Gender Sensitisation Committee against Sexual Harassment (GSCASH) committee and said the reason the administration was “hell-bent on dismantling it” was to bring a body that would shield the accused rather than give justice to the complainant.
