Kolkata, September 9: If a woman wants to "bury" the case of sexual harassment and gives it in writing, then her request should be respected, said the Calcutta High Court on Tuesday. The Calcutta High Court was hearing a petition by a professor of Burdwan University who faces allegations of sexual harassment. The victim, a student, however, told an internal probe committee of the varsity that she doesn't want to pursue the case. Calcutta University Professor Booked for Allegedly Threatening To Kill West Bengal CM Mamata Banerjee: Police.

The student "prefers a quiet burial to the entire incident. There is no reason why the desire and intention of the lady student will not be taken into consideration... ," Justice Amrita Sinha was quoted by Times of India as saying in the judgment. She added it is time the society started "taking women seriously and treat them with dignity, not out of fear of the law but out of respect". Justice Kaushik Chanda Made Permanent Judge of Calcutta HC.

The professor was accused of sexual harassment by third parties in August last year. The complainants included a students' union and the head of the department in which the professor worked. They had submitted an audio clip from 2018 which purportedly contained conversations between the accused professor and the allegedly harassed student.

The university's Internal Complaints Committee took over the case, but the probe hit a dead end when the student refused to pursue the case. She told the ICC that neither she, nor her parents wanted to press sexual harassments charges and she was ready to give it in writing. The ICC stopped the investigation but recommended that the university could take appropriate action. The professor was then barred from all academic activities.

After hearing the professor's petition against actions taken against him by the university, the High Court noted that the victim's consent was not obtained to pursue the case. "After lapse of about two years the incident surfaced, that too, at the behest of some organization/ students’ union. Neither the students’ union nor any of its members have obtained consent from the concerned student prior to proceeding with the matter," it said.

The court also said the alleged audio clip was never authenticated by agencies. It observed: "The complainants do not have any personal knowledge of the alleged incident. It appears that, for reasons best known to them, the union became extra vigilant and re-opened the case, when practically the alleged incident died a natural death."

(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on Sep 09, 2021 09:33 AM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).