KOCHI: Expressing deep concern over the “unilateral and biased” nature — often in favour of the institution — of a majority of the Internal Complaints Committee (ICC) reports that it reviewed, the High Court on Wednesday noted that credence of the reports was a matter subject to thorough checks and scrutiny to be believed and acted upon.
The HC held that the reports or findings of the ICCs established under the Sexual Harassment of Women at Workplace (Prevention, Prohibition, and Redressal) Act, 2013, will not hold decisive weight against a police report filed on a victim’s complaint of workplace sexual harassment.
Justice A Badharudden said the reports require thorough scrutiny and cannot be deemed conclusive when complaints are also filed with police, resulting in investigation and a final report alleging the commission of the offences.
The HC issued the order while dismissing a petition filed by a college principal to quash the proceedings related to sexual harassment charges. The prosecution said the principal made sexually coloured remarks and demanded sexual favour from a teacher. The principal’s counsel argued the ICC had found the allegations were false.
The court made it clear that, when the aggrieved person directly files a complaint to the police, the latter will register the crime, conduct a probe and file a final report on the commission of the offences alleged; the ICC findings against the police report have no bearing on the prosecution case.
ICC did not record victim’s statement, says High Court
As for the ICC report in the case, the HC said the committee recorded the statements of the accused and a few other teachers, but not that of the victim.
The justification was that she did not appear before the committee even after served a notice, said the court.
“After considering the statements of the witnesses, by putting some vague questions and obtaining answers from them, the ICC report gave a clean chit to the accused without recording the statement of the victim, who is the aggrieved person. I do not think the ICC report, prepared without even recording the statement of the victim, could supersede the prosecution records to disbelieve the same,” the HC said.