“IN THIS VIEW OF THE MATTER, we direct that the incidents of alleged sexual harassment on part of Respondent No. 1 may be forgiven but allowed to haunt the wrongdoer forever” - these were the observations of a Supreme Court bench of Justices Pankaj Mithal and P.B. Varale last week in a case where serious sexual harassment allegations were raised by a faculty member against N.K. Chakrabarti, the vice chancellor of National University of Juridical Sciences, Kolkata.
Even as the order noted that the complaint was time barred, as per the limitation period and the extended period, in a remarkable initiative, the top Court had directed that “the judgment shall be made part of the resume of the [vice chancellor], compliance of which shall be strictly ensured by him personally.”
Last year, first a single judge bench of the Calcutta High Court had directed the local committee of North 24 Parganas to re-examine the complaint lodged by the faculty member against Chakrabarti’s removal. Thereafter in December 2024, on appeal, the High Court had reversed its decision, upholding the dismissal of the sexual harassment complaint.
Eight days later today, students at NUJS Kolkata came together to organise a mass protest to demand Chakrabarti’s resignation. While the Supreme Court’s observations played a crucial role in triggering the student agitations, the disgruntlements are multilayered, many of them rooted in systemic breakdown of administrative upkeep, and even concerning allegations of financial impropriety, in the national law university which admits students each year through the Common Law Admission Test.
While students demanded an indefinite resignation today, reports suggest that the vice chancellor indicated his reluctance to resign.
In a public statement drafted by the students, they noted:
“It is a collective cry born out of months, even years of silence, frustration and disappointment. It is an action born out of desperation, post the grave allegations of sexual harassment levelled against the VC, which has to be mandatorily included in his resume, as directed by the Hon’ble SC, the glaring lack of financial transparency and the systemic patterns of administrative failures, persistent apathy, and growing disconnect between the administration and its students and faculty members.”
The sexual harassment complaint had been originally filed in December 2023 by the faculty member, who had noted that she had been made a victim of sexual harrassment on multiple occassions between September 2019 and December 2023. In a separate letter addressed to the Chief Justice of India B.R. Gavai, who also serves as the Chancellor of the university, an alumnus called for the “removal of the Vice Chancellor on moral and ethical grounds.” Referring to the Supreme Court’s observations, the letter stated:
“These are not trivial observations. Coming from the highest court of the land, they carry the weight of serious institutional concern, especially in a matter involving allegations of sexual harassment, abuse of authority, and retaliation against a woman faculty member.”
Earlier in May 2024, the Student Juridical Association, the elected student body of the varsity had also written to the then CJI D.Y. Chandrachud highlighting the sexual harassment allegations against Chakrabarti and demanding his “immediate suspension”, also asserting that “he be disallowed from making executive decisions regarding the university and its functioning.”