Excelsior Correspondent
Srinagar, Apr 14: After the reports that the authorities did not act well in time in response to a complaint from a female scholar, the University of Kashmir today made it clear that its Internal Complaints Committee (ICC) investigated the complaint promptly and as per the law.
Varsity spokesperson said the University took all steps necessary to address the alleged complaint with promptness and to facilitate the complainant in completion of her PhD degree.
“Upon receiving the alleged complaint from the National Commission for Women, New Delhi, the University referred the matter to its Women’s Empowerment and Grievance Committee without delay. Since the complaint involved allegations of sexual harassment, as well as a complaint about the delay in the complainant’s PhD thesis submission, the matter was also referred to the University’s Internal Complaints Committee (ICC),” the spokesperson said, adding that the ICC provided the complainant with a fair opportunity to record her statement freely and without fear, and the faculty member against whom the complaint was made was also provided with the same opportunity.
To arrive at a just conclusion, the KU spokesperson said that the Committee also contacted the teaching and non-teaching staff at CCAS to record their observations.
“According to the complainant’s recorded statement before the ICC, she alleged that she was harassed in 2016 while she was preparing her synopsis and had not yet registered for her PhD.”
However, KU said, she did not file a complaint with the authorities until December 2019 i.e. a gap of almost three years.
The ICC’s report concluded, among other things, that the complaint was a result of animosity resulting from non-compatibility between the scholar and the supervisor, KU said.
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