MINISTRY OF HUMAN RESOURCE DEVELOPMENT (University Grants Commission) NOTIFICATION New Delhi, the 2nd May, 2016 University Grants Commission (Prevention, prohibition and redressal of sexual harassment of women employees and students in higher educational institutions) Regulations, 2015 No. F. 91 -1/2013(TFGS).- 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:--

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S.1 Short title, application and commencement.--

(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.

S.2 Definitions.--

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 t

S.3 Responsibilities of the Higher Educational Institution.--

(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 Sensitization on Campuses) of the Commission, to sensitize 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 sexe

S.4 Supportive measures.--

(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 sen

S.5 Grievance redressal mechanism.--

(1) Every Executive Authority shall constitute an Internal Complaints Committee (ICC) with an inbuilt mechanism for gender sensitization 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 organization;"

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S.6 Responsibilities of Internal Complaints Committee (ICC).--

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 minimize 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 ac

S.7 The process for making complaint and conducting Inquiry.--

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.

S.8 Process of making complaint of sexual harassment.--

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.

S.9 Process of conducting Inquiry.--

(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 agai

S.10 Interim redressal.--

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.

S.11 Punishment and compensation.--

(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 th

S.12 Action against frivolous complaint.--

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-regulations (1) of regulations 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.

S.13 Consequences of non-compliance.--

(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 12B 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