Previous to the 14th convocation of Gujarat Nationwide Regulation College (GNLU), the overall council (GC) met Saturday the place the fact-finding committee’s report on alleged sexual harassment and queerphobia on the institute was taken up for dialogue, The Indian Specific has learnt.
The report was taken after the Gujarat Excessive Courtroom in an order dated March 12 directed GC to look into the report of the fact-finding committee headed by retired Justice Harsha Devani. The GC includes 26 members, together with Chief Justice of India DY Chandrachud and Supreme Courtroom decide Justice Bela Trivedi.
GNLU Director Prof S. Shanthakumar, who can be a part of the council, informed The Indian Express that he was not a part of the council when the precise agenda pertaining to the dialogue over the fact-finding committee’s report was taken up. “I used to be not a part of the assembly when this agenda was taken up. In reality, nobody from the college was there. Fourteen members of the GC have been there. Nobody joined just about.”
The report, submitted to the court docket on February 22 in sealed covers, adopted the Excessive Courtroom’s directives to look into the allegations at GNLU. The panel report had highlighted pupil submissions that “a politically influential individual has been concerned in suppressing the case earlier than the police”. It additionally talked about that that there have been suppression of incidents of molestation, rape, discrimination and homophobia, and the shortage of existence of an inner grievance committee on the varsity.
A supply conscious of the dialogue that occurred within the assembly, in the meantime, stated the GC accepted the suggestions made within the report and determined that the identical will probably be applied together with “further steps”. The supply added that the GC will file a report earlier than the Excessive Courtroom by the subsequent date of listening to scheduled for April 4.
The Excessive Courtroom had taken suo motu cognisance of newspaper stories in September 2023 of GNLU college students posting on Instagram concerning the alleged incidents of sexual harassment and discrimination.
In the meantime, Justice Trivedi presided over the 14th convocation, whereas Lawyer-Basic of India, R. Venkataramani, delivered the convocation deal with the place 252 college students have been conferred levels and 20 college students have been awarded 34 gold medals. Venkataramani, too, is a part of the GC.
Venkataramani’s convocation deal with targeted on “discovering freedom of expression”. He highlighted that freedom of expression is the “pure and essential emanation of the capability to suppose and urge to speak”, the latter being necessary to “each people and a great social order that ensures equal regard for all folks”.
Noting that the communication house has develop into huge and open with social media, Venkataramani stated, “It seems we have now reached a stage of solely freedom and never accountability. All arguments in favour of accountability are put down on the bottom that the state has no enterprise to manage thought. We neglect that we’re already managed within the palms of freedom of expression.”
He went on so as to add that social media, which is the brand new public sq., is a “problem to our genius.” “It isn’t state or authorities, however acts as whether it is an untamed grasp… the query that can interact in occasions to come back will probably be how will we, as people, handle our freedom of our thoughts and ideas… our pursuit of truths with out being slaves to exterior manipulations by expertise,” he went on so as to add.
He additionally stated that whereas the Supreme Courtroom upheld defamation beneath IPC part 499 within the case of Dr Subramanian Swamy versus Union of India, and that the essence of the defamation legislation is to make sure that folks act responsibly in making statements regarding others, “we, nevertheless, see each irresponsible speech and motivated revengeful engagement in felony prosecutions”.