DU professors move High Court after Kalindi College ICC rules threats, lewd remarks don't count as harassment

Two professors at Delhi University’s Kalindi College have moved the Delhi High Court alleging procedural lapses in the functioning of the college’s Internal Complaints Committee (ICC). The professors had filed complaints against their male colleagues for subjecting them to sexual harassment, physical threats and inappropriate comments.

The complaints from the two faculty members, who have been teaching at the college for over 20 years each, date back to last July.

Following a series of such incidents, Kalindi College’s ICC, constituted under the Sexual Harassment of Women at Workplace (Prevention, Prohibition and Redressal) Act, 2013 (PoSH Act), heard the matter.

Delhi University: Sexual harassment, threats

According to the complaints, the male professors first allegedly exchanged lewd comments on the college’s official WhatsApp group late at night. Calling the comments derogatory, the teachers filed a complaint with the college principal.

One of the accused is alleged to have made threatening remarks against one of the complainants in a staff association meeting attended by over 100 faculty members. The recording of the meeting was submitted to the ICC as well.

The two complainants had repeatedly requested that one of the sitting members of the ICC be asked to recuse himself as he was named in the complaint for having reacted to the offensive WhatsApp chats.

The ICC proceeded regardless. The complainants appeared in person for the hearing.

Also read ‘Silence, not justice’: POSH cells fail sexual harassment survivors; SRISIIM formed one after molestation case

Only sexual gesture, physical advances are harassment

On September 19, 2025, the ICC report stated that the “complaints do not amount to ‘sexual harassment’ or ‘sexually coloured remark’ as there has been no allegation of any sexual gesture or physical advances by the respondents, nor any sexual signals or showed any pornographic material or made any sexually coloured remarks”.

It also stated that the complainants failed to provide any evidence in the form of documents or photos.

“But with the POSH Act there is no provision of appellate authority for colleges. The petitioners even filed an appeal against procedural lapses with the university but there was no response. The petitioners had no alternative but to move the court”, said the counsels Snigdha Singh and Kumar Shashwat. “We are teachers, but what happens to students, whose sexual harassment complaints are not addressed well by the ICC,” said one of the teachers.

The officiating principal of the college, Meena Charanda, said, “The matter is now in the court, so I would not want to comment on it.”

It is not the first time that the court is being moved against the functioning and judgement of the ICC. There have been several cases from across the country.