[University
Grants Commission (Prevention, prohibition and redressal of sexual harassment
of women employees and students in higher educational institutions)
Regulations, 2015][1] [2nd May, 2016] In exercise of the powers
conferred by clause (g) of
sub-section (1) of Section 26 of the University Grants Commission Act, 1956 (3
of 1956), read with sub-section (1) of Section 20 of the said Act, the
University Grants Commission hereby makes the following regulations, namely: (1) These regulations may be
called the University Grants Commission
(Prevention, prohibition and redressal of sexual harassment of women employees
and students in higher educational institutions) Regulations, 2015. (2) They shall apply to all
higher educational institutions in India. (3) They shall come into force
on the date of their publication in the Official Gazette. In these regulations,
unless the context otherwise requires, (a) “aggrieved woman” means in
relation to work place, a woman of any age whether employed or not, who alleges
to have been subjected to any act of sexual harassment by the respondent; (b) ‘Act’ means the Sexual
Harassment of Women at Workplace (Prevention, Prohibition and Redressal) Act,
2013 (14 of 2013); (c) “campus” means the location
or the land on which a Higher Educational Institution and its related
institutional facilities like libraries, laboratories, lecture halls,
residences, halls, toilets, student centres, hostels, dining halls, stadiums,
parking areas, parks-like settings and other amenities like health centres,
canteens, Bank counters, etc. are situated and also includes extended campus
and covers within its scope places visited as a student of the HEI including
transportation provided for the purpose of commuting to and from the
institution, the locations outside the institution on field trips, internships,
study tours, excursions, short-term placements, places used for camps, cultural
festivals, sports meets and such other activities where a person is
participating in the capacity of an employee or a student of the HEI; (d) “Commission” means the
University Grants Commission established under Section 4 of the University
Grants Commission Act, 1956 (3 of 1956); (e) “covered individuals” are
persons who have engaged in protected activity such as filing a sexual
harassment charge, or who are closely associated with an individual who has
engaged in protected activity and such person can be an employee or a fellow
student or guardian of the offended person; (f) “employee” means a person
as defined in the Act and also includes, for the purposes of these Regulations
trainee, apprentice (or called by any other name), interns, volunteers, teacher
assistants, research assistants, whether employed or not, including those
involved in field studies, projects, short-visits and camps; (g) “Executive Authority” means
the chief executive authority of the HEI, by whatever name called, in which the
general administration of the HEI is vested. For public funded institutions the
Executive Authority means the Disciplinary Authority as indicated in Central
Civil Services (Classification, Control and Appeal) Rules, 1965 or its
equivalent rules; (h) “Higher Educational
Institution” (HEI) means a university within the meaning of clause (j) of Section 2, a college within the
meaning of clause (b) of
sub-section (1) of Section 12-A and an institution deemed to be a University
under Section 3 of the University Grants Commission Act, 1956 (3 of 1956); (i) “Internal Complaints
Committee” (ICC) means Internal Complaints Committee to be constituted by an
HEI under sub-regulation (1) of Regulation 4 of these regulations. Any existing
body already functioning with the same objective (like the Gender Sensitization
Committee Against Sexual Harassment (GSCASH)) should be reconstituted as the
ICC: Provided that in the latter
case the HEI shall ensure that the constitution of such a Body is as required
for ICC under these regulations. Provided further that such a Body shall be
bound by the provisions of these regulations; (j) “protected activity”
includes reasonable opposition to a practice believed to violate sexual
harassment laws on behalf of oneself or others such as participation in sexual
harassment proceedings, cooperating with an internal investigation or alleged
sexual harassment practices or acting as a witness in an investigation by an
outside agency or in litigation; (k) “sexual harassment” means (i) “An unwanted conduct with
sexual undertones if it occurs or which is persistent and which demeans,
humiliates or creates a hostile and intimidating environment or is calculated
to induce submission by actual or threatened adverse consequences and includes any
one or more or all of the following unwelcome acts or behaviour (whether
directly or by implication), namely (a) any unwelcome physical,
verbal or non-verbal conduct of sexual nature; (b) demand or request for
sexual favours; (c) making sexually coloured
remarks; (d) physical contact and
advances; or (e) showing pornography” (ii) any one (or more than one
or all) of the following circumstances, if it occurs or is present in relation
or connected with any behaviour that has explicit or implicit sexual undertones (a) implied or explicit promise
of preferential treatment as quid pro quo for sexual favours; (b) implied or explicit threat
of detrimental treatment in the conduct of work; (c) implied or explicit threat
about the present or future status of the person concerned; (d) creating an intimidating
offensive or hostile learning environment; (e) humiliating treatment
likely to affect the health, safety dignity or physical integrity of the person
concerned; (l) “student” means a person
duly admitted and pursuing a programme of study either through regular mode or
distance mode, including short-term training programmes in a HEI; Provided that a student who
is in the process of taking admission in HEIs campus, although not yet
admitted, shall be treated, for the purposes of these regulations, as a student
of that HEI, where any incident of sexual harassment takes place against such
student: Provided that a student who
is a participant in any of the activities in a HEI other than the HEI where
such student is enrolled shall be treated, for the purposes of these
regulations, as a student of that HEI where any incident of sexual harassment
takes place against such student; (m) “third Party Harassment”
refers to a situation where sexual harassment occurs as a result of an act or
omission by any third party or outsider, who is not an employee or a student of
the HEI, but a visitor to the HEI in some other capacity or for some other
purpose or reason; (n) “victimisation” means any
unfavourable treatment meted out to a person with an implicit or explicit
intention to obtain sexual favour; (o) “workplace” means the
campus of a HEI including (p) Any department,
organisation, undertaking, establishment, enterprise, institution, office,
branch or unit which is established, owned, controlled or wholly or
substantially financed by funds provided directly or indirectly by the
appropriate HEIs; (q) Any sports institute,
stadium, sports complex or competition or games venue, whether residential or
not used for training, sports or other activities relating thereof in HEIs; (r) Any place visited by the
employee or student arising out of or during the course of employment or study
including transportation provided by the Executive Authority for undertaking
such journey for study in HEIs. (1) Every HEI shall, (a) Wherever required,
appropriately subsume the spirit of the above definitions in its policy and
regulations on prevention and prohibition of sexual harassment against the
employees and the students, and modify its ordinances and rules in consonance
with the requirements of the Regulations; (b) publicly notify the
provisions against sexual harassment and ensure their wide dissemination; (c) organise training programmes
or as the case may be, workshops for the officers, functionaries, faculty and
students, as indicated in the SAKSHAM Report (Measures for Ensuring the Safety
of Women and Programmes for Gender Sensitisation on Campuses) of the
Commission, to sensitise them and ensure knowledge and awareness of the rights,
entitlements and responsibilities enshrined in the Act and under these
regulations; (d) act decisively against all
gender based violence perpetrated against employees and students of all sexes
recognising that primarily women employees and students and some male students
and students of the third gender are vulnerable to many forms of sexual
harassment and humiliation and exploitation; (e) publicly commit itself to a
zero tolerance policy towards sexual harassment; (f) reinforce its commitment to
creating its campus free from discrimination, harassment, retaliation or sexual
assault at all levels; (g) create awareness about what
constitutes sexual harassment including hostile environment harassment and quid
pro quo harassment; (h) include in its prospectus
and display prominently at conspicuous places or Notice Boards the penalty and
consequences of sexual harassment and make all sections of the institutional
community aware of the information on the mechanism put in place for redressal
of complaints pertaining to sexual harassment, contact details of members of
Internal Complaints Committee, complaints procedure and so on. Any existing
body already functioning with the same objective (like the Gender Sensitisation
Committee Against Sexual Harassment (GSCASH)) should be reconstituted as the
ICC: Provided that in the latter
case the HEI shall ensure that the Constitution of such a Body is as required
for ICC under these regulations. Provided further that such a Body shall be
bound by the provisions of these regulations; (i) inform employees and
students of the recourse available to them if they are victims of sexual
harassment; (j) organise regular
orientation or training programmes for the members of the ICC to deal with complaints,
steer the process of settlement or conciliation, etc., with sensitivity; (k) proactively move to curb
all forms of harassment of employees and students whether it is from those in a
dominant power or hierarchical relationship within HEIs or owing to intimate
partner violence or from peers or from elements outside of the geographical
limits of the HEI; (l) be responsible to bring
those guilty of sexual harassment against its employees and students to book
and initiate all proceedings as required by law and also put in place
mechanisms and redressal systems like the ICC to curb and prevent sexual
harassment on its campus; (m) treat sexual harassment as
a misconduct under service rules and initiate action for misconduct if the
perpetrator is an employee; (n) treat sexual harassment as
a violation of the disciplinary rules (leading up to rustication and expulsion)
if the perpetrator is a student; (o) ensure compliance with the
provisions of these regulations, including appointment of ICC, within a period
of sixty days from the date of publication of these regulations; (p) monitor the timely
submission of reports by the ICC; (q) prepare an annual status
report with details on the number of cases filed and their disposal and submit
the same to the Commission. (1) The rules, regulations or
any such other instrument by which ICC shall function have to be updated and
revised from time-to-time, as court judgments and other laws and rules will
continue to revise the legal framework within which the Act is to be
implemented. (2) The Executive Authority of
the HEIs must mandatorily extend full support to see that the recommendations
of the ICC are implemented in a timely manner. All possible institutional
resources must be given to the functioning of the ICC, including office and
building infrastructure (computers, photocopiers, audio-video, equipment,
etc.), staff (typists, counselling and legal services) as, well as a sufficient
allocation of financial resources. (3) Vulnerable groups are
particularly prone to harassment and also find it more difficult to complain.
Vulnerability can be socially compounded by region, class, caste, sexual
orientation, minority identity and by being differently abled. Enabling
committees must be sensitive to such vulnerabilities and special needs. (4) Since research students and
doctoral candidates are particularly vulnerable the HEIs must ensure that the
guidelines for ethics for Research Supervision are put in place. (5) All HEIs must conduct a
regular and half yearly review of the efficacy and implementation of their
anti-sexual harassment policy. (6) All Academic Staff Colleges
(now known as Human Resource Development Centres (HRDCs) and Regional Centres
for Capacity Building (RCCBs) must incorporate sessions on gender in their orientation
and refresher courses. This should be across disciplines, and preferably
mainstreamed using the UGC SAKSHAM Report which provides indicative modules in
this regard. (7) Orientation courses for
administrators conducted in HEIs must have a module on gender sensitisation and
sexual harassment issues. Regular workshops are to be conducted for all
sections of the HEI community. (8) Counselling services must
be institutionalised in all HEIs and must have well trained full-time
counsellors. (9) Many HEIs having large
campuses have a deficit in lighting and are experienced as unsafe places by the
institutional community. Adequate lighting is a necessary aspect of
infrastructure and maintenance. (10) Adequate and well trained
security including a good proportion or balance of women security staff is
necessary. Security staff must receive gender sensitisation training as a part
of conditions of appointment. (11) HEIs must ensure reliable
public transport, especially within large campuses between different sections
of the HEI, hostels, libraries, laboratories and main buildings, and especially
those that do not have good access for day scholars. Lack of safety as well as
harassment is exacerbated when employees and students cannot depend on safe
public transport. Reliable transport may be considered by HEIs to enable
employees and students to work late in libraries, laboratories and to attend
programmes in the evenings. (12) Residential HEIs should
accord priority to construction of women's hostels. For the growing population
of young women wishing to access higher education, hostel accommodation is
desirable in both urban and rural areas and at all levels of higher education
which provides a modicum of protection from harassment of all kinds. (13) Concern for the safety of
women students must not be cited to impose discriminatory rules for women in
the hostels as compared to male students. Campus safety policies should not
result in securitisation, such as over monitoring or policing or curtailing the
freedom of movement, especially for women employees and students. (14) Adequate health facilities
are equally mandatory for all HEIs. In the case of women this must include
gender sensitive doctors and nurses, as well as the services of a
gynaecologist. (15) The Women's Development
Cells in colleges shall be revived and funded to be able to carry out the range
of activities required for gender sensitisation and remain autonomous of the
functioning of anti sexual harassment committees and ICCs. At the same time they
shall extend their activities to include gender sensitisation programmes in
consultation with ICCs and help to disseminate anti-sexual harassment policies
on campuses on a regular basis. The ‘cultural’ space and the ‘formal academic
space’ need to collaborate to render these workshops innovative, engaging and
non-mechanical. (16) Hostel Wardens, Provosts,
Principals, Vice Chancellors, Legal Officers and other functionaries must be
brought within the domain of accountability through amendments in the rules or
Ordinances where necessary. (1) Every Executive Authority
shall constitute an Internal Complaints Committee (ICC) with an inbuilt
mechanism for gender sensitisation against sexual harassment. The ICC shall
have the following composition. (a) A Presiding Officer who
shall be a woman faculty member employed at a senior level (not below a
Professor in case of a university, and not below an Associate Professor or
Reader in case of a college) at the educational institution, nominated by the
Executive Authority: Provided that in case a
senior level woman employee is not available, the Presiding Officer shall be
nominated from other offices or administrative units of the workplace referred
to in sub-section 2(o): Provided further that in
case the other offices or administrative units of the workplace do not have a
senior level woman employee, the Presiding Officer shall be nominated from any
other workplace of the same employer or other department or organisation;” (b) two faculty members and two
non-teaching employees, preferably committed to the cause of women or who have
had experience in social work or have legal knowledge, nominated by the
Executive Authority; (c) three students, if the
matter involves students, who shall be enrolled at the undergraduate, master's,
and research scholar levels respectively, elected through transparent
democratic procedure; (d) one member from amongst
non-government organisations or associations committed to the cause of women or
a person familiar with the issues relating to sexual harassment, nominated by
the Executive Authority. (2) At least one-half of the
total members of the ICC shall be women. (3) Persons in senior
administrative positions in the HEI, such as Vice-Chancellor, Pro
Vice-Chancellors, Rectors, Registrar, Deans, Heads of Departments, etc. shall
not be members of ICCs in order to ensure autonomy of their functioning. (4) The term of office of the
members of the ICC shall be for a period of three years. HEIs may also employ a
system whereby one-third of the members of the ICC may change every year. (5) The Member appointed form
amongst the non-governmental organisations or associations shall be paid such
fees or allowances for holding the proceedings of the Internal Committee, by
the Executive Authority as may be prescribed. (6) Where the Presiding Officer
or any member of the Internal Committee: (a) contravenes the provisions
of Section 16 of the Act; or (b) has been convicted for an offence
or an inquiry into an offence under any law for the time being in force is
pending against him; or (c) he has been found guilty in
any disciplinary proceedings or a disciplinary proceeding is pending against
him; or (d) has so abused his position
as to render his continuance in office prejudicial to the public interest, such
Presiding Officer or Member, as the case may be, shall be removed from the
Committee and the vacancy so created or any casual vacancy shall be filled by
fresh nomination in accordance with the provisions of this section.” The Internal Complaints
Committee shall: (a) provide assistance if an
employee or a student chooses to file a complaint with the police; (b) provide mechanisms of
dispute redressal and dialogue to anticipate and address issues through just
and fair conciliation without undermining complainant's rights, and minimise
the need for purely punitive approaches that lead to further resentment,
alienation or violence; (c) protect the safety of the
complainant by not divulging the person's identity, and provide the mandatory
relief by way of sanctioned leave or relaxation of attendance requirement or
transfer to another department or supervisor as required during the pendency of
the complaint, or also provide for the transfer of the offender; (d) ensure that victims or
witnesses are not victimised or discriminated against while dealing with
complaints of sexual harassment; and (e) ensure prohibition of
retaliation or adverse action against a covered individual because the employee
or the student is engaged in protected activity. The ICC shall comply with
the procedure prescribed in these Regulations and the Act, for making a
complaint and inquiring into the complaint in a time bound manner. The HEI
shall provide all necessary facilities to the ICC to conduct the inquiry
expeditiously and with required privacy An aggrieved person is
required to submit a written complaint to the ICC within three months from the
date of the incident and in case of a series of incidents within a period of
three months from the date of the last incident: Provided that where such
complaint cannot be made in writing, the Presiding Officer or any Member of the
Internal Committee shall render all reasonable assistance to the person for
making the complaint in writing: Provided further that the
ICC may, for the reasons to be accorded in the writing, extend the time-limit
not exceeding three months, if it is satisfied that the circumstances were such
which prevented the person from filing a complaint within the said period.” Friends, relatives,
Colleagues, Co-students, Psychologist, or any other associate of the victim may
file the complaint in situations where the aggrieved person is unable to make a
complaint on account of physical or mental in capacity or death. (1) The ICC shall, upon receipt
of the complaint, send one copy of the complaint to the respondent within a
period of seven days of such receipt. (2) Upon receipt of the copy of
the complaint, the respondent shall file his or her reply to the complaint
along with the list of documents, and names and addresses of witnesses within a
period of ten days. (3) The inquiry has to be
completed within a period of ninety days from the receipt of the complaint. The
inquiry report, with recommendations, if any, has to be submitted within ten
days from the completion of the inquiry to the Executive Authority of the HEI.
Copy of the findings or recommendations shall also be served on both parties to
the complaint. (4) The Executive Authority of
the HEI shall act on the recommendations of the committee within a period of
thirty days from the receipt of the inquiry report, unless an appeal against
the findings is filed within that time by either party. (5) An appeal against the
findings or/recommendations of the ICC may be filed by either party before the
Executive Authority of the HEI within a period of thirty days from the date of
the recommendations. (6) If the Executive Authority
of the HEI decides not to act as per the recommendations of the ICC, then it
shall record written reasons for the same to be conveyed to ICC and both the
parties to the proceedings. If on the other hand it is decided to act as per
the recommendations of the ICC, then a show-cause notice, answerable within ten
days, shall be served on the party against whom action is decided to be taken.
The Executive Authority of the HEI shall proceed only after considering the
reply or hearing the aggrieved person. (7) The aggrieved party may
seek conciliation in order to settle the matter. No monetary settlement should
be made as a basis of conciliation. The HEI shall facilitate a conciliation
process through ICC, as the case may be, once it is sought. The resolution of
the conflict to the full satisfaction of the aggrieved party wherever possible,
is preferred to purely punitive intervention. (8) The identities of the
aggrieved party or victim or the witness or the offender shall not be made
public or kept in the public domain especially during the process of the
inquiry. The HEI may, (a) transfer the complainant or
the respondent to another section or department to minimise the risks involved
in contact or interaction, if such a recommendation is made by the ICC; (b) grant leave to the
aggrieved with full protection of status and benefits for a period up to three
months; (c) restrain the respondent
from reporting on or evaluating the work or performance or tests or
examinations of the complainant; (d) ensure that offenders are
warned to keep a distance from the aggrieved, and wherever necessary, if there
is a definite threat, restrain their entry into the campus; (e) take strict measures to
provide a conducive environment of safety and protection to the complainant
against retaliation and victimisation as a consequence of making a complaint of
sexual harassment. (1) Anyone found guilty of
sexual harassment shall be punished in accordance with the service rules of the
HEI, if the offender is an employee. (2) Where the respondent is a
student, depending upon the severity of the offence, the HEI may, (a) withhold privileges of the
student such as access to the library, auditoria, halls of residence,
transportation, scholarships, allowances, and identity card; (b) suspend or restrict entry
into the campus for a specific period; (c) expel and strike off name
from the rolls of the institution, including denial of readmission, if the
offence so warrants; (d) award reformative
punishments like mandatory counselling and, or, performance of community
services. (3) The aggrieved person is
entitled to the payment of compensation. The HEI shall issue direction for
payment of the compensation recommended by the ICC and accepted by the
Executive Authority, which shall be recovered from the offender. The
compensation payable shall be determined on the basis of (a) mental trauma, pain,
suffering and distress caused to the aggrieved person; (b) the loss of career
opportunity due to the incident of sexual harassment; (c) the medical expenses
incurred by the victim for physical, psychiatric treatment; (d) the income and status of
the alleged perpetrator and victim; and (e) the feasibility of such
payment in lump sum or in instalments. To ensure that the
provisions for the protection of employees and students from sexual harassment
do not get misused, provisions against false or malicious complaints have to be
made and publicised within all HEIs. If the ICC concludes that the allegations
made were false, malicious or the complaint was made knowing it to be untrue,
or forged or misleading information has been provided during the inquiry, the
complainant shall be liable to be punished as per the provisions of
sub-regulation (1) of Regulation 10, if the complainant happens to be an
employee and as per sub-regulation (2) of that regulation, if the complainant
happens to be a student. However, the mere inability to substantiate a
complaint or provide adequate proof will not attract attention against the
complainant. Malicious intent on the part of the complainant shall not be
established without an inquiry, in accordance with the procedure prescribed,
conducted before any action is recommended. (1) The Commission shall, in
respect of any institution that will fully contravenes or repeatedly fails to
comply with the obligations and duties laid out for the prevention, prohibition
and redressal of sexual harassment of employees and students, take one or more
of the following actions after providing due notice: (a) withdrawal of declaration
of fitness to receive grants under Section 12-B of the University Grants
Commission Act, 1956; (b) removing the name of the
university or college from the list maintained by the Commission under clause (f) of Section 2 of said Act, 1956; (c) withholding any grant
allocated to the institution; (d) declaring the institution
ineligible for consideration for any assistance under any of the general or
special assistance programmes of the Commission; (e) informing the general
public, including potential candidates for employment or admission, through a
notice displayed prominently in the newspapers or other suitable media and
posted on the website of the Commission, declaring that the institution does
not provide for a zero tolerance policy against sexual harassment; (f) recommending the
affiliating university for withdrawal of affiliation, in case of a college; (g) recommending the Central
Government for withdrawal of declaration as an institution deemed to be
university, in case of an institution deemed to be university; (h) recommending the
appropriate State Government for withdrawal of status as university in case of
a university established or incorporated under a State Act. (i) taking such other action
within its powers as it may deem fit and impose such other penalties as may be
provided in the University Grants Commission Act, 1956 for such duration of
time till the institution complies with the provisions of these regulations. (2) No action shall be taken by
the Commission under these regulations unless the Institution has been given an
opportunity to explain its position and an opportunity of being heard has been
provided to it. [1]
Ministry of Human Resource Development, Noti. No. F. 91-1/2013(TFGS), dated May
2, 2016, published in the Gazette of India, Extra., Part III, Section 4, dated
2nd May, 2016, pp. 10-18, No. 171University
Grants Commission (Prevention, prohibition and redressal of sexual harassment
of women employees and students in higher educational institutions)
Regulations, 2015
Regulation – 3-A .Supportive measures.