Sexual Harassment Case

Jawaharlal Nehru University (JNU) has recorded 151 sexual harassment complaints since 2017, the year its Internal Complaints Committee (ICC) replaced Gender Sensitisation Committee Against Harassment (GSCASH), according to data obtained through an RTI application. The university claims to have resolved nearly 98 per cent of these complaints, with only three cases currently under investigation. However, when asked about the nature of the complaints and the action taken against the accused, JNU refused to provide information, citing confidentiality. The decision to dismantle GSCASH in 2017 has been a contentious issue, with the JNU Students' Union and Teachers' Association consistently demanding its reinstatement. The association argue that the ICC lacks the transparency and autonomy that GSCASH provided and operates under administrative influence, undermining trust in its processes. The data shows that the highest number of cases in a single year was reported in 2018-19, with 63 ..

A Delhi court will resume on November 26 recording statement of one of six female wrestlers who have accused former Wrestling Federation of India (WFI) chief Brij Bhushan Sharan Singh of sexual harassment. Additional Chief Metropolitan Magistrate Vaibhav Chaurasiya posted the matter for further proceedings after recording statement of one of the complainants in the case on November 14. The proceedings took place in-chamber. The court had on May 21 framed charges of sexual harassment and using force to outrage women's modesty against Singh in the case. Singh had pleaded not guilty and claimed trial. The judge had also framed the charge of criminal intimidation against Singh. The court further framed charge of criminal intimidation against co-accused and former WFI assistant secretary Vinod Tomar in the case.

The Supreme Court on Thursday said a sexual harassment case cannot be closed after a compromise is reached between the rival parties as such offences have serious impact on the society. The observation came while setting aside an order of the Rajasthan High Court which had quashed the FIR against a teacher who was accused of sexually molesting a 16-year-old girl at school in Rajasthan's Sawai Madhopur district. A bench of justices C T Ravikumar and Sanjay Kumar said the high court has misread and misapplied the law laid down to quash the subject FIR and all further proceedings. "The commission of such offences against the children should be viewed as heinous and serious. Needless to say, that commission of such offences cannot be taken lightly as offences of private nature and in fact, such offences are bound to be taken as offences against the society... "We are at a loss to understand how the High Court arrived at the conclusion that in the case on hand a dispute to be resolved .

The Delhi High Court on Friday sought response of the city police and wrestlers on a plea by former Wrestling Federation of India chief Brij Bhushan Singh seeking early hearing of his petition to quash an FIR lodged against him by several women wrestlers. Singh has sought preponement of the date of hearing in the main petition which is listed on January 13, 2025, on the grounds that the matter is at the stage of recording prosecution evidence in the trial court and by the time the case will come up before the high court, most of the witnesses will be examined. Justice Manoj Kumar Ohri issued notice to the Delhi Police and the wrestlers on the application in which Singh has also urged the high court to direct the trial court not to proceed in the criminal case till disposal of his pending petition. The high court asked the police and the wrestlers to file their replies to the application and listed it for hearing on December 16. During the brief hearing, Singh, represented by advoca

Malayalam film actor Sidhique appeared before the Special Investigation Team (SIT) on Monday for questioning in connection with a rape case registered against him. The SIT, led by an IPS officer, is currently interrogating Sidhique at the Cantonment police station here. In her complaint, a young female actor alleged that Sidhique sexually assaulted her at a hotel in Thiruvananthapuram under the pretext of offering her a role in a film. The Supreme Court had granted Sidhique interim protection from arrest last week, after the Kerala High Court rejected his anticipatory bail plea. The High Court had cited the seriousness of the accusations and the need for custodial interrogation, while dismissing his bail plea. Sidhique has been booked under Sections 376 (rape) and 506 (criminal intimidation) of the Indian Penal Code. He claims the complainant has been harassing him with false accusations since 2019. This case is part of a broader investigation into allegations of sexual harassme

The Women in Cinema Collective, an outfit of women professionals working in the Malayalam film industry, on Saturday said it would soon come up with a set of recommendations to "rebuild" the industry as an equal and safe workspace. In a Facebook post, the WCC expressed hope that all industry members would come in open solidarity and spirit to adopt a 'cinema code of conduct'. The Collective said in the wake of the publication of the Justice K Hema Committee report, it would commence a series with its proposed recommendations in this regard. "To rebuild the Malayalam film industry as an equal and safe workspace for all, we are commencing a series today with our proposed recommendations. "We hope all industry members will come together in open solidarity & spirit to adopt a Cinema Code of Conduct that will help transform our film industry onscreen & offscreen for the better. Stay tuned !" the FB post said. The outfit's action came weeks after the publication of the Justice K ...

Actor Nivin Pauly was on Tuesday booked for the offence of rape on a complaint by a 40-year-old woman that he sexually assaulted her over a year ago in Dubai, police said. An officer of Oonnukal police station, where the FIR under section 376 of the IPC was registered, said that there are six accused, including a woman, in the case. The first accused is a woman and Pauly is the sixth accused, the officer said. According to the woman, the incident occurred over a year ago in Dubai, the officer said, and declined to give further details. Pauly is among the many actors and directors who are facing allegations of sexual harassment or rape by female actors following the publication of the Justice K Hema Committee report. The committee was constituted by the Kerala government after the 2017 actress assault case and its report revealing instances of harassment and exploitation of women in the Malayalam cinema industry. Following the allegations of sexual harassment and exploitation crop

A case has been registered against BJP functionary Arun Kumar Puthila for allegedly sexually harassing a woman in Bengaluru in 2023, police said on Monday. The alleged crime happened in a hotel in Bengaluru when the woman wanted to join the pro-Hindu movement started by Puthila. She later became a follower of the functionary on various social media sites, they said. According to the FIR registered on September 1 at women's police station in Puttur in Dakshina Kannada district, Puthila took advantage of her trust and invited her to a lodge in Bengaluru city where he allegedly sexually assaulted her, besides blackmailing and threatening to kill her. The complainant alleged that he used to threaten her by claiming that he had photographs, selfies, audio, and videos, which might damage her image in society. Puthila had contested as an independent candidate in the 2023 assembly elections. Later, he rejoined the BJP. In his respose to the allegations, Puthila stated that it was a fake .

Praising the efforts of the Women in Cinema Collective in Kerala, actor Samantha Ruth Prabhu has urged the Telangana government to publish the report of a sub-committee on 'sexual harassment' in the Telugu film industry which can help frame policies to establish a safe working environment for women. Taking cue from the Women in Cinema Collective (WCC), The Voice of Women, a support group for women in TFI (Telugu film industry), was created in 2019, she said on Instagram. "We, the women of the Telugu film industry, welcome the Hema Committee report and applaud the persistent efforts of the WCC in Kerala, which has laid the path to this moment," she said. "We hereby urge the Telangana government, to publish the submitted sub-committee report on sexual harassment, which can help frame government and industry policies, to establish a safe working environment for women in the TFI," Samantha said. The state government had in 2019 constituted a committee, comprising government officials o

AMMA, the top decision-making body in the Malayalam film industry, dissolved itself last evening, citing moral responsibility due to allegations by some actors against committee members

The association announced the resignation through an official statement, assuring that a new leadership will be selected soon

What was the MeToo movement and how has the Hema Committee report, delayed by five years, reignited the fight against sexual harassment in the film industry

Amid the outrage over the Badlapur sexual assault incident, Maharashtra deputy Chief Minister Ajit Pawar on Saturday said those guilty of offences against women should be castrated. He was speaking at an official program about the Mahayuti government's flagship 'Ladki Bahin' scheme for women at Yavatmal in eastern Maharashtra. The BJP-Shiv Sena-NCP government in the state would not spare anyone accused of offences against women, whoever the person may be, and a bill providing for a more stringent punishment in such offences has been forwarded to the President for the assent, he said. "I personally feel that when such perverts lay hand on our mothers-sisters, our daughters, they should face such a legal punishment that they should not think of (repeating the offence) again. To put it in my language, such persons' private organ should be removed....Some people are so vile, that this must be done," Pawar said. Alleged sexual assault of two kindergarten girls at a school at Badlapur in

Data from Complykaro shows a 40.4% increase in sexual harassment complaints, with 268 more cases filed than in the previous financial year

On average, 49 sexual harassment cases were reported every day in 2022, according to NCRB

West Bengal molestation row: Raj Bhawan staff member has accused Governor CV Ananda Bose of sexual harassment, filed plea challenging immunity

The woman, who was seated next to Dinesh Kumar Saraogi, a senior executive at Jindal Steel Group, alleged that he behaved inappropriately

Harvey Weinstein is scheduled to appear in a New York court Friday ahead of a planned retrial on rape and sexual assault charges. The former Hollywood movie mogul's pretrial hearing in Manhattan criminal court will address issues related to evidence in the case, including text messages. At a hearing last week, prosecutors said they anticipate a November retrial. They told Judge Curtis Farber they are still actively pursuing new claims against Weinstein, though the prosecutors conceded they hadn't yet brought any findings to a grand jury. Weinstein's lawyer, Arthur Aidala, argued the investigation was simply a delay tactic. New York's highest court threw out Weinstein's 2020 conviction earlier this year, ruling that the original trial judge unfairly allowed testimony against him based on allegations that weren't part of the case. The conviction had been considered a landmark in the #MeToo movement, an era that began in 2017 amid numerous allegations of sexual misconduct against the

Prajwal Revanna has faced mounting legal and political turmoil since disturbing videos allegedly showing him assaulting multiple women surfaced ahead of polls

Another FIR has been registered against former MP Prajwal Revanna on charges of sexual harassment, stalking and criminal intimidation, police sources said on Tuesday. Along with him, three others, including former BJP MLA from Hassan Preetham Gowda has also been named in the FIR for allegedly sharing images captured by Prajwal during sexual harassment of the victim on a video call, they said. With the fresh FIR, this is the fourth case registered against Prajwal. "A fresh case has been registered by the SIT against Prajwal and three others. Former BJP MLA Preetham Gowda has also been named in the FIR," a police source confirmed to PTI. The case has been registered under sections 355 A (sexual harassment), 354 B (assault or use of criminal force to woman with intent to disrobe), 354 D (stalking), 506 (criminal intimidation) of the Indian Penal Code and 66 E (punishment for violation of privacy) of the Information Technology Act, according to the police sources. Meanwhile, Prajwal i