Dean ‘illegally’ dissolves GMCH Internal Complaint Committee

Nagpur: The state government on Friday abruptly ‘dissolved’ the Internal Complaint Committee (ICC at workplace) inquiring into the alleged sexual and mental harassment of a post graduate girl student by a professor at Government Medical College and Hospital (GMCH). Interestingly, the GMCH dean dissolved the ICC immediately after his own transfer by the state government to Nanded GMC, raising eyebrows among teachers, ICC members as well as women’s rights activist.In fact, legal experts said the dissolution of ICC was illegal.
The five-member ICC had recorded the statement of the victim student on Thursday and was to record the statement of the accused, Dr Makrand Vyawahare, on Friday at 3pm. However, exactly at 3pm, college dean Dr A Niswade was himself issued a transfer letter to Nanded GMC. He also issued a letter to the ICC members, saying the committee proceedings should be quashed and all documents regarding it should be handed over to the government, which will conduct an independent inquiry at its level. The dean issued the letter to ICC on the directives received on phone from joint director of DMER Dr Prakash Wakode.
Advocate Smita Sarode Singalkar, who is also a women’s right and socio legal activist, told TOI that the dean or any other government official had no authority to dissolve the committee. “Only a ‘duty officer’ of the level of a collector or a district magistrate appointed by the state government alone can intervene in any ICC, since he is responsible for every ICC work in a district. To the best of my knowledge, Nagpur district doesn’t have any such official appointed at present. No one else can intervene or dissolve a ICC. The committee should have actually called Dr Makrand Vyawahare to appear before it today,” she said.
The provision of a ICC at every workplace where more than 10 men and women work together was made under the guidelines issued by the Supreme Court in the land mark judgement in Vishaka versus Rajasthan government in December 1998. Singalkar said that as per the Sexual Harassment at Workplace Act (section 11.3), the ICC has all the powers of a civil court and hence it cannot be dissolved by government too.
The victim girl in such a case has all the right to challenge the state government’s decision, and confront the accused too without filing a police complaint. “Police have no role in this. In fact, in most such cases, the victim is under tremendous pressure, mental trauma and may not be in a state of mind to even convey her statement directly to the police. Hence, the importance of this committee,” said Singalkar.
The ICC, however, under section 10 has a provision of reconciliation in case the two parties want to compromise on certain terms. In this case, the ICC has only heard the girl yet. The accused too has to be heard. In ICC, the chances of victim withdrawing from her complaint are also very little since she is issued summons and has to give a satisfactory answer to the committee. The same holds true for the accused too.
Medical education secretary Medha Gadgil and DMER director Dr Pravin Shingare were unavailable for comments.