The Hindu : New Delhi News : Stay vacated in sexual harassment case

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Tuesday, Jan 22, 2008
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New Delhi

Stay vacated in sexual harassment case

Staff Reporter

Accused is Vice-Principal of Ramjas College

NEW DELHI: The Delhi High Court on Monday vacated the stay on the proceedings of a college complaints committee looking into a case of sexual harassment against B.N. Ray, Vice-Principal of Delhi University’s Ramjas College.

The Court had stayed the inquiry proceedings last December on a petition by Dr. Ray who had prayed for its quashing on the grounds that they were “not as per the law”. A Division Bench of the Court comprising Manmohan Sarin and Veena Birbal vacated the stay and directed the committee to go ahead with its inquiry.

It asked the committee to submit a report to the college governing body on completion of the inquiry. The Bench said it would take up the petition for final hearing on March 13.

Dr. Ray, who has been accused of being intimate with some of his male students, had moved the Court claiming that the Supreme Court guidelines on sexual harassment were not applicable against him as those norms were laid down after the Vishakha judgment keeping in view harassment cases against women only.

“In my case, since only male students have lodged a complaint against me, I have appealed to the Court that I don’t fall under the purview of the investigation of anti-sexual harassment committee of the college mandated under Ordinance XV-D,” he had maintained. Dr. Ray had also stated that since he was a senior teacher at the college he could not be questioned by people lower than his rank

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