Around ten months after he was asked to go on compulsory retirement over sexual harassment charges, a senior faculty member of the IISc has been reinstated by the Karnataka High Court. In its order, the court found faults with the Internal Committee (IC) and the Disciplinary Authority formed to probe Giridhar Madras.
Giridhar Madras, a senior faculty of the Chemical Engineering Department, was found guilty of sexual harassment by an internal council in October 2018. The probe had started in November 2016 after a PhD student had lodged a complaint that he had made sexually coloured remarks against her and called her repeatedly at night.
The order by Justice BP Bajanthri held that the IISc authorities have not followed statutory provisions, like providing a copy of the complaint to the accused. They also reportedly did not stick to the rules mandated for forming an inquiry committee and submission of the report, the court said. The order also found that Central Civil Services Rules were also ignored. The Hindu reported that the HC also asked action to be taken against IISc director and members of the probe committee.
According to The New Indian Express, the HC has also directed the Centre to hold a refresher training programme for the ICC and DIsciplinary Authority.
“The Government of India/Disciplinary Authority/experts should conduct a programme to apprise how to conduct an inquiry in a sexual harassment case. The Department of Personnel and Training (DoPT) is requested to make necessary arrangements for a refresher training programme for the members of the committee and disciplinary authorities so as to avoid any procedural/violation of statutory rules in conducting inquiry and punishing the perpetrators. A copy of this order should be communicated to the DoPT Secretary, and Law Department of Government of India,” the court said.