JNUSU raises concerns about handling of sexual harassment complaint filed by 47 students

The Vasant Kunj North constabulary said it had received a ailment connected Tuesday regarding a scuffle but nary FIR was registered. In a missive to Pandit, JNUSU accused the committee of diluting the lawsuit by treating it arsenic an “individual complaint” alternatively than a corporate grievance. While the students sought to beryllium heard collectively, ICC Presiding Officer Vandana Mishra allegedly instructed them to prime 5 representatives instead. The national claimed this determination undermined the case’s corporate aspect.

During the ICC gathering connected Thursday, 4 pupil representatives arrived late, taking vantage of which the ICC members tried to “intimidate” the lone complainant into giving a solo deposition, the JNUSU claimed. “The survivors disagree with this due to the fact that the ailment was filed arsenic a collective, but they were trying to dilute this into 5 idiosyncratic cases of harassment,” the missive read.

According to JNUSU, during deposition, the complainant was reportedly asked “irrelevant and intimidating questions”, specified arsenic “why didn’t you spell to your centre’s chairperson first” and “who told you astir the ICC process”.

The missive stated, “These questions bash not interest the jurisdiction of the ICC, and were meant to endanger the survivors and get accusation from her astir the case, to weaken our cause.” The national besides raised concerns that a unit subordinate recorded a video of the complainant during the confidential session, compromising her anonymity.

Following this, CSSS students and JNUSU representatives demanded that a JNUSU typical beryllium allowed to beryllium for aboriginal depositions, immoderate recordings from the league beryllium deleted, and a restraining bid beryllium issued to safeguard the identities of the complainants.
However, arsenic per the letter, Mishra denied these requests and brought successful further unit from the Campus Security Office (CSO) – an enactment JNUSU claimed was a deliberate effort to “shield the accused”. “This was a wide lawsuit of victim-blaming, and an effort to shield the perpetrators,” the national stated, adding that it demanded Mishra’s removal arsenic the ICC Presiding Officer.

In the letter, JNUSU urged the assemblage medication to enforce a transparent and impartial enquiry process, with a pupil typical from the Gender Sensitization Committee Against Sexual Harassment (GSCASH) included successful each proceedings.

While determination was nary contiguous effect connected the allegations from JNU vice-chancellor, Mishra said the committee “follows each procedures”, reported PTI.

A constabulary officer, meanwhile, said, “In the complaint, 1 radical claimed that the different passed lewd comments connected students who were partying. When they confronted them, the members of the different radical got physically and verbally abusive and forced them to delete the videos of a mates of seniors passing comments. However, the archetypal radical alleged that nary comments were passed and that the scuffle was initiated by students who were partying.”

“Later, some groups gave successful penning that they don’t privation the constabulary to further prosecute the substance and would instrumentality it up with JNU’s interior committee. Hence, nary FIR was lodged,” the serviceman added.