MNLU student twice found guilty of sexual harassment gets away with one year of community service | Mumbai News

MUMBAI: The Bombay High Court on Thursday directed the Maharashtra National Law University (MNLU) to declare the results of a student found guilty of sexual harassment, subject to his completion of community service for one academic year. The decision follows a series of incidents involving the student – who comes from a family of prominent lawyers from Nagpur – who has been held responsible twice for misconduct on campus.

The case arose from a complaint by a female student to the Internal Complaints Committee (ICC) on March 1, 2023, describing an incident that occurred on February 26-27, 2023. After thorough investigation, the ICC concluded on April 17, 2023 that the De male student was guilty of sexual harassment and recommended his expulsion based on his repeated violations. The responsible clerk issued the deportation order on June 17, 2023.

Aggrieved by this decision, the student appealed to the Vice Chancellor (VC). On August 30, 2023, the VC ruled that the appeal was unfounded; however, he graciously allowed him to sit for the end-semester exams. The student then filed a petition in the HC, challenging the VC’s order. After considering the evidence and arguments, the court ultimately upheld the ICC report and upheld the deportation order.

Lawyers representing the male student argued that although he had appeared before the ICC twice, he was denied the opportunity to cross-examine the survivor and the witnesses who testified against him. They argued that the punishment of expulsion was grossly disproportionate and, if applied, would irrevocably hinder his academic career.

MNLU lawyer Uday Warunjikar contended that the punishment imposed by the VC was both legal and proportionate to the male student’s repeated misconduct. He argued that the issue of reforms should only be relevant in cases involving a single act of misconduct, rather than repeated offences, and insisted that any leniency shown would send an inappropriate message as to liability in cases of serious misconduct.

Senior advocate Navroz Seervai and advocate Pooja Thorat, who represented the survivor, strongly opposed the student’s arguments. Seervai pointed out that there had been previous complaints against the student and that there had been no discernible change in his behavior despite previous disciplinary action. This pattern of conduct, he alleged, ultimately culminated in the present complaint.

In its ruling, the court affirmed the male student’s expulsion and stated that the VC’s decision was based on substantial evidence of the student’s repeated misconduct; However, the Committee expressed concern about the indefinite nature of the expulsion, believing it to be excessively harsh and potentially leading to the student’s “academic death.” To prevent the lawsuits from continuing, she decided to impose a clear and limited punishment: deportation for one year with community service.

In concrete terms, the student will be obliged to perform community service until the end of the 2024-2025 academic year as prescribed by the university regulations and determined by the VC. After this, he will be eligible for the announcement of his results for the ninth and tenth semesters.