GNLU registrar apologizes to HC for denying harassment

Ahmedabad: The registrar of the Gujarat National Law University (GNLU) on Wednesday tendered an unconditional apology to the Gujarat high court for not acknowledging incidents of sexual harassment and being in denial mode in his affidavit filed before the court in Oct 2023.
Apart from the registrar submitting an apology, the GNLU director also filed an affidavit and assured the court that he would see to it that the students’ confidence is won over and they feel safe and confident enough to air their grievances.
The bench of Chief Justice Sunita Agarwal and Justice Aniruddha Mayee said that it would dispose of the suo motu PIL. During the hearing on Wednesday, the HC asked about the nature of the post of GNLU registrar and advocate general Kamal Trivedi told the court that advertisement for the post had been issued twice, but the university did not get an adequate response for the job which entails a five-year term. The court was told that the current registrar, an assistant professor, would be relieved of this work and his services would be confined to teaching only.
The court asked about the constitution of the internal complaints committee (ICC) and suggested the inclusion of more male members as the current ICC at GNLU has only one male member. The court also suggested that complaint boxes be placed on the campus, so a complainant’s identity is not revealed. It also suggested a mechanism for anonymous complaints to reach the ICC. The judges said they will incorporate suggestions into their order and insisted that the present registrar should not get another term at the post. “This person should not be given the charge of registrar because he is not fit to be a registrar. He may be fit to be a professor,” the court said.