The Madras High Court on Wednesday appreciated the courage shown by a woman lecturer of Muqyyath Shah Sirguro (MSS) Wakf Board college here in lodging a complaint against the college Principal I. Ismail (since retired) for subjecting her to sexual harassment and also following up the matter despite several odds.
Allowing a writ petition filed by the 45-year-old zoology lecturer in the Madurai Bench of the High Court, the First Bench comprising Chief Justice H.L. Gokhale and Justice G.M. Akbar Ali directed the former Principal as well as the college management to pay her Rs.15,000 and Rs.10,000 respectively towards costs incurred on filing the case.
"It is most unfortunate that the petitioner had to suffer sexual harassment at the hands of her college principal. He is supposed to be in loco parentis (a person who stands in the place of a parent) and one would not have expected such a conduct from a Principal of an educational institution," the Bench said.
Writing the judgement, the Chief Justice observed: "We would have refrained from disclosing the name of the petitioner. However, since she has shown the courage in filing the petition, we do not think it necessary to do so because it will deny the credit which is otherwise due to her."
The petitioner, a spinster, was the first woman lecturer to join the college in its regular stream on October 1, 1996. In April 2003, she lodged a complaint with the governing body of the college levelling charges of sexual harassment against Dr. Ismail who had joined the college as an economics lecturer in 1978 and promoted as Principal in 1999.
An internal enquiry, conducted by a retired district judge, held Dr. Ismail guilty of many grave charges including sexual harassment and misappropriation of the college funds. Accepting the findings, the governing body on December 2, 2005 removed him from the post of Principal.
Subsequently, new members were elected to the governing body in May 2006. They withdrew the disciplinary proceedings and reinstated the Principal prompting the lecturer to move the High Court. "This petition would not have been required, if the college management had not vacillated and changed their original decision," judges said.
Further, they dismissed a writ petition filed by Dr. Ismail and held that the management was right in rejecting his plea to withdraw an application made by him on April 21, 2008 to go on voluntary retirement. The VRS application was made pursuant to a case filed by a former student of the college against his reinstatement in service.
Pointing out that the applicant had not stated any reason for withdrawing his VRS application but for informing the authorities of his decision, the judges said: "No change of circumstances is indicated as is otherwise required…The management is fully justified in rejecting the withdrawal application."
