Bombay High Court quashes TISS report dismissing sexual harassment allegations against Dean

The Bombay High Court on Monday granted relief to a student from Tata Institute of Social Sciences (TISS) by quashing a report of TISS appellate authority which had alleged that the student had filed a false sexual harassment complaint against the Institute's Dean. [Dr Marufa Mazhar Faruqi v Tata Institute of Social Sciences and Anr.] .A Division Bench of Justices AS Chandurkar and Rajesh S Patil found that the appellate authority of TISS exceeded its jurisdiction by delving into sexual harassment allegations by the student against the Dean when it was required to consider only the rustication proceedings against the student. ."In our view, the order passed by the Appellate Authority on 23rd December 2023 is liable to be quashed for the reason that the said Authority has travelled beyond the scope of the appeal and has sought to delve into matters that were not the subject matter of the appeal," the Court said..The Court was hearing a writ petition by the student against the December 2023 report of the appellate body..By way of background, the petitioner and her husband were alleged to be responsible for social media posts against senior officials of the college. Based on a complaint, a three-member enquiry committee was constituted to probe the petitioner's actions.The enquiry committee in October 2022 recommended rustication of the petitioner, following which the communication conveying the decision to rusticate the petitioner was issued in November 2022. The petitioner moved the High Court against the same. However, her plea was disposed of due to an alternative remedy being available in the form of an appeal before the appellate body constituted by the Institute. The Court had also directed the Institute to consider the unconditional apology tendered by the petitioner. The three-member enquiry committee determined that the matter was serious and refused to alter the decision of rustication of the petitioner. Aggrieved, the petitioner moved High Court again. This time, the Court directed TISS to constitute a proper appellate body and decide the petitioner's appeal as per law..Subsequently, the appellate body heard the matter and in December 2023, submitted a report which stated that the petitioner had filed a frivolous sexual harassment complaint against the Dean and concluded that the petitioner had willfully committed offences against the Dean.The petitioner claimed that she was called upon to submit a notarized document expressing remorse for her action of lodging the frivolous sexual harassment case. Aggrieved, she moved the High Court again..Advocate Gauri R Raghuwanshi for the petitioner argued that the appellate authority unjustly broadened the scope of the appeal by considering the petitioner’s sexual harassment complaint against the Dean. Raghuwanshi further contended that this was despite the petitioner’s unconditional apology for the social media post..On the other hand, TISS contended that the petitioner had in clear terms admitted that her complaint alleging sexual harassment was false and frivolous and therefore, justified the demand for an apology letter..The Court noted that the report was liable to be quashed as the appellate authority exceeded its jurisdiction by taking into account the sexual harassment allegations when the rustication was for her social media posts."In our view, such course was not permissible and the Appellate Authority ought to have independently dealt with the petitioner’s appeal preferred against the action of rustication as communicated on 3rd November 2022. The petitioner could not have been put in a worse situation from the one in which she was placed after the initial order of rustication passed by the Competent Authority," the Court said..Accordingly, the Court quashed the report and directed the appellate authority to reconsider the petitioner's appeal. It clarified that the authority will confine itself to the social media posts.The Court also noted that the petitioner wished to pursue her studies and directed that the appeal be decided within six weeks..TISS was represented by advocate Rajeev Kumar Panday and Sachin Kanse, instructed by PRS Legal..[Read Judgment]