Chennai: The Madras High Court today said a toll-free number should be set up in schools, colleges and universities for students to report sexual harassment they face and has given eight weeks for the government to do this.
The order was issued while hearing a petition filed by a Coimbatore government school headmaster, Ranganathan, objecting to his transfer in 2017 to a school 2 km from where he worked. Similarly, another headmistress, Malliga, has sought to be transferred to a school in R S Puram in Coimbatore. Both cases were taken up for hearing by Justice S M Subramanium. (Incidentally, the petition does not have anything to do with sexual harassment.)
During the hearing, the judge observed that in recent days, there were several reports about illegal activities and sexual harassment in schools, colleges and universities.
“To make it easier for students to report any incident of sexual harassment, a toll-free number should be set up by the government. A circular in this regard should be sent to all educational institutions. This number should be set up within eight weeks and it should be made available 24/7,” the judge decreed. The judgment also added that immediate inquiry must happen within 24 hours in the event of receiving such complaints.
“The 1st respondent (Government of Tamil nadu) is directed to display the said Toll Free Telephone Numbers and the details of the authorities in the Notice Board of all the Schools, Educational institutions across the State of Tamil Nadu in Bold Letters in a visible place, which would be accessible to the parents, students and the public in general,” read the order.
