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Very interesting that the VC was represented by the state law min's son. Maybe not surprising since the state govt wants NKC in the chair for the gravy train to continue.
The univ was represented by a close buddy of the AG (KD). Incidentally, it was this very advocate, who had been previously brought in by the great Lord Taluk to draft NUJS service rules (which never got made since 2000). Later this legal eagle helped NKC kill off all inquiries relating to dodgy promotions that took place after NKC took over as VC.
The big question is what will DD do in the EC on May 28, 2024? Will he duck and swerve, as he did with the DA case or will he really take a stand and follow what IIM Calcutta did to its director pending a full and thorough investigation?
More importantly, will DD remember how NUJS admin (then under PIB) diluted and buried the Justice (Retd) PN Sinha Inquiry that DD had initiated when he was in Cal HC; and also note how NKC ensured that the Inquiry Report is not exhumed? Or will he go by the advice of his silver tongued law college mates SS and KD?
SJA, still sleeping? Just like the gents who you "defeated"?
difficult to prove as on both situations the complainant is likely to be alone with the alleged perpetrator, it will come down to whose testimony is more believable
🍿🍿🍿🍿🍿
It's relevant for NUJS because a BJP dispensation will replace the TMC people on the governing body overnight with BJP or pro-BJP people, e.g. Vikramjit Banerjee, Sanjeev Sanyal etc.
What the BJP is trying to do now is consolidate Hindu votes across the board. This strategy will work in some seats, but not all.
for next 35 it was left front
didi will be completing 15 yrs in power in 2026, she will win at least one more and then hand over to her successor in 2030, then whoever is remaining as opposition will win, so bengal will change in 2031 not in 2026
after that tmc will dissipiate like aidmk, he successor will not be able to keep the flock like dmk
most likely bjp will win in 2031 and then left will win about 10-15 years later
https://www.ndtv.com/india-news/judge-kaushik-chanda-accused-of-bias-by-mamata-banerjee-made-permanent-in-calcutta-high-court-2529227
The issue of Justice Chanda being a former BJP "lawyer" has been discussed and addressed threadbare in a litigation that was launched by the Kind Lady herself. But she is a politically savvy person and knows her voters very well. So she keeps spinning old records selectively.
Then again despite all the fire and brimstone Dhankar became Veep. Remember the photo-op with Assam CM and Dhankar? Remember Hamlet but don't become one.
https://www.barandbench.com/news/delhi-high-court-rejects-wb-minister-moloy-ghatak-quash-ed-case-section-50-pmla-summons-article20
For now, the next big thing to watch out for is the election result on 4 June. If the TMC thrashes the BJP, the BJP will be finished in Bengal and NUJS will be fortified further as a TMC bastion. If the BJP thrashes the TMC, then a regime change in Bengal in 2026 is certain. If both parties have roughly equal seats, tough to say.
At any rate, the backdoor via BSc LLB, MSc courses; fattening the admin layer and recruitment spree; galloping construction and rental tenders et al have ensured the RoI that PIB had failed to deliver. It was never just SJA action that made PIB a liability for the powers that be at TMC (esp the KB-KD faction).
And let's go slow with BJP vs TMC. The "setting" is for real despite all the hoopla. Such things have always existed among political parties and will be a constant in future as well. Sheeps like us wouldn't understand but must remain aware lest we become lunch.
Prof Menon was stiffly opposed by so many in the Left because of his long standing saffron sympathies. MPS got the job because Cong-Left were in UPA and so the discordant Left voices were hushed. PIB was a known saffron sympathiser when he got the job. You may say that he squeaked in during Left-TMC transition. But why did TMC continue with him, handing him a second term despite the damning Justice (Retd) PN Sinha Inquiry Report and SJA protests? Why did SJA fail then (2016) but succeed in 2018?
This they had to report. A lot of the details were circulating in the public domain. Of course the EC worthies are blissfully unaware.
Note that the order deals with a technical issue of limitation, rather than the merit of the allegations.
https://indiankanoon.org/doc/26791297/
So much happening with this case. Of course there is the political meat. But what explains the police (over)zealousness? Where does this promptness disappear whenever it involves anyone remotely connected with the regime (past, present and likely in the future as well)??
What's the update on the other WP by this associate professor?
By the way what is the big UGC scam the concerned Associate Prof is alleging the VC hushed up? PIB buried the Justice PN Sinha Inquiry Report. NKC used his saffron connections to get the UGC to accept dodgy utilisation certificates. Is this a new scam or is the Associate Prof inconveniently (for VC) raking up the Justice Sinha Inquiry Report?
Irony. It was Justice Dipankar Dutta who had initiated that inquiry by a former Cal HC judge and that Report was damning. Has this SJA even read it? Does it even know about it and how the report was a consequence of SJA action? How SJA kept fighting for follow-up action but PIB and Justice (Retd) Amit Talukdar (as Acting VC) stonewalled.
Now Justice Dutta will be giving VC a second term despite the latter's pronounced role in the burial of that Inquiry Report. Such is life!
And what is the SJA doing?
To,
The Hon’ble Chief Justice of India,
Supreme Court of India, New Delhi.
also Chancellor, The West Bengal National University of Juridical Sciences, Kolkata.
Subject: Regarding the allegations of sexual harassment against the Vice Chancellor, NUJS, and expression of solidarity with our Associate Professor Vaneeta Patnaik
We, the students of the West Bengal National University of Juridical Sciences (hereinafter, “NUJS”), stand in solidarity with Associate Professor Vaneeta Patnaik in her legal actions against the Vice Chancellor, NUJS.
This statement is being made in light of the allegation made by Associate Professor Patnaik that she has been made a victim of sexual harassment and misconduct by the Vice Chancellor on several occasions between September 2019 and December 2023. She has reportedly faced delays in salary, denial of promotional opportunities and professional threats arising from her resistance against the Vice Chancellor’s alleged demands. The Order of the Hon’ble Calcutta High Court dated 22.05.2024 states that the local committee (‘LC’) instituted under the Sexual Harassment of Women at Workplace (Prevention, Prohibition and Redressal) Act, 2013 (‘PoSH Act’) rejected Associate Professor Patnaik’s complaint on the grounds of limitation. As the Order notes, the alleged acts of sexual harassment were of a continuing nature, commencing in September 2019 and the latest incident taking place in December 2023. The alleged incidents between December 2023 and April 2023 related to her detrimental treatment in the workplace pursuant to the alleged acts of sexual harassment. The LC did not consider the April 2023 actions as “sexual harassment”, and the Petitioner was not allowed to be heard at the Executive Council (‘EC’) meeting dated 21.12.2023, even as procedurally it could not have decided on merits at that stage.
We strongly condemn the presumption of falseness made regarding Associate Professor Patnaik’s complaints and deliberate attempts by the Vice Chancellor to circumvent the appropriate legal procedure by abusing his position of power. These alleged actions constitute blatant patriarchal exploitation and an attempt to undermine Associate Professor Patnaik’s respect and dignity at her workplace.
The NUJS Policy on Prevention, Prohibition and Redressal of Sexual Harassment, 2016 (hereinafter “Policy” or “NUJS Policy”), states that sexual harassment for the purposes of the policy may include unwelcome sexual advances or requests for sexual favours, whether express or implied as well as “any physical, verbal, non-verbal conduct of a sexual nature when acquiescence to the same is leveraged against the individual’s employment, or involvement in University activities or interferes with professional or academic progress or creates a hostile environment in the University.” The same is supplemented by Sections 2(n)(iii) and 3(2) of the PoSH Act. It is appalling that the concerned PoSH Committee, as well as members of the University Administration, have been complicit in this oppression and do not consider such actions to be of a “sexual nature”.
Indian women have been systematically denied any acknowledgement of their experience due to archaic, outdated notions of what constitutes “harassment” or “misconduct.” The reiteration of such stereotypes in court proceedings is unacceptable. An arbitrary dismissal of the Complainant’s claims not only taints the principles that NUJS has historically espoused but also creates an unsafe institutional atmosphere and trust deficit for students, particularly victim-survivors of harassment.
Section 19 of the PoSH Act obligates employers to provide a safe workplace environment. The alleged hostility and indifference by the University Administration and repeated retaliatory actions undertaken by the Vice Chancellor against the complainant are unequivocally condemned by the student body. We also condemn the actions of other faculty and non-faculty staff who have allegedly subjected Associate Professor Patnaik to stigmatic, retaliatory and punitive actions.
It is necessary to note the blatant violation of the West Bengal National University of Juridical Sciences Staff Ethics and Code of Conduct (‘MCC’) insofar as the Vice Chancellor has endeavoured to abuse the power vested in him. The code of conduct requires a staff member to “Maintain absolute integrity and absolute devotion to duty, high ethical standards and honesty at all times.” It is evident that the Vice Chancellor’s actions in circumventing established procedures to quash the complaint against him, refusing to recuse from a committee meeting addressing the allegations against him, and making appointments without EC approval is a blatant violation of the MCC which cannot be sustained.
Considering that the meeting of the NUJS EC to decide the extension of the tenure of the Vice Chancellor is scheduled for 28th May 2024, severe and prompt consideration of the General Body’s demands is imperative to secure this institution’s future.
In light of the above, we make the following unconditional demands.
1. We demand immediate steps be taken to ensure that Associate Professor Patnaik is not further victimised or subjected to any harassment or hostility from faculty/non-faculty staff. We demand a thorough, unbiased investigation against the Vice Chancellor regarding allegations of sexual harassment and intimidation.
2. We demand the immediate suspension of the Vice Chancellor from his office and that he be prevented from undertaking any duties or responsibilities as the university's Vice Chancellor until his acquittal. We resolutely demand that he be disallowed from making executive decisions regarding the university and its functioning.
3. We demand that the minutes of the NUJS Executive Council meetings dated 27.11.2023 and 21.12.2023 be released immediately, along with an explanation as to why the EC failed to discuss the harassment complaint filed against its own chairman in these meetings. We note that the Vice Chancellor allegedly has already attempted to defer discussions about the complaint in the EC and refused to recuse himself from meetings regarding allegations against himself. In that, he has displayed his willingness to abuse the authority vested in him by the university.
4. We demand that the farcical and retaliatory fact-finding committee created by the Vice Chancellor against Associate Professor Patnaik be dismissed. We condemn the alleged actions of the Vice Chancellor and his close aides within the faculty for misusing the authority vested in the University’s administration to arm-twist and intimidate the victim and cause her aggravated suffering.
5. Finally, we resolutely demand that owing to a lack of confidence of the NUJS General Body towards the Vice Chancellor, coupled with the allegations discussed, no extension be granted to him for the position of Vice-Chancellor. We note that the Vice Chancellor has allegedly attempted to immunise himself against allegations surrounding inappropriate sexual conduct by abusing the authority vested in him as the Vice Chancellor and Chairman of the EC, and in doing so, has betrayed the trust placed in him as the head of an institution such as NUJS.
Given these considerations, we hereby wish to relay to your Hon'ble Lordship our collective decision to resolutely stand against the extension of the Vice Chancellor’s term at our institution. We also wish to relay our pain and disappointment with our institution for failing Associate Professor Patnaik so tremendously. We humbly pray to your Hon'ble Lordship to take note of the allegations of sexual harassment and institutional marginalisation and our just demands, which attempt to salvage not only the institutional reputation of NUJS but also the idea of a safe space for all students, victim-survivors and those from vulnerable communities in our university.
Thanking You,
On behalf of the General Body of the West Bengal National University of Juridical Sciences (NUJS),
(Signature) President and Vice President,
Student Juridical Association.
The most damning allegation is that the complainant attempted to present her case before the EC in December 2023, but NKC was present and refused to recuse despite being asked to. Apparently neither DD nor other judges present there noticed the clear conflict of interest. Obviously the complainant felt unsafe there and decided against presenting her case.
If you were a student of NUJS you would have known that but clearly you’re not so stop making these random fake comments on a public forum
The statement went through a GB vote where nearly 400 students approved it