Supreme Court Clears Vice-Chancellor Accused Of Sexual Harassment, But With A Resume Twist

Last Updated:September 13, 2025, 16:55 IST

Supreme Court dismissed sexual harassment case against a University VC due to time bar but ordered its judgment be included in his resume, ensuring the incident haunts him forever.

A bench of Justices Pankaj Mithal and Prasanna B Varal dismissed a petition filed by a faculty member. (Representational) 

In an unusual order, the Supreme Court on Friday said that the incident of alleged sexual harassment on the part of the vice-chancellor of West Bengal National University of Juridical Sciences may be forgiven, but it should haunt him forever, and the judgment shall be included in his resume.

While dismissing the case due to a statutory time limit for filing such complaints, a bench of Justices Pankaj Mithal and Justice PB Varale, however, ensured that the “offence" did not go unpunished. The bench further insisted that the wrongdoing of the Vice Chancellor, identified as Nirmal Kanti Chakrabarti, could not be allowed to fade into obscurity, Livelaw reported.

“In this view of the matter, we direct that the incidents of alleged sexual harassment on part of respondent no.1 may be forgiven but allowed to haunt the wrongdoer forever. Thus, it is directed that this judgment shall be made part of the resume of respondent no.1, compliance of which shall be strictly ensured by him personally," the bench said.

The petition was dismissed after the court observed that the survivor had lodged a formal complaint on December 26, 2023, several months after the alleged incidents took place in April 2023, the report added.

The complaint was initially registered with the Local Complaint Committee (LCC), which had rejected it as “time-barred," noting that it was filed beyond the prescribed limitation period of three months and even beyond the extendable limit of six months.

According to the complainant, Chakrabarti joined the university as the vice chancellor in July 2019, and since then, he had subjected her to unwelcome advances, sexual demands, and threats to her career, culminating in an incident in April 2023 when he allegedly pressured her to accompany him on a resort trip. After she refused, she claimed he warned that her career would suffer.

In October 2019, the woman’s promotion was put on hold till the Executive Council, on April 2, 2022, cleared her elevation.

“The appellant was called upon by the Vice-Chancellor in his office again in April 2023, where he asked the appellant to accompany him on a trip to a resort, which the appellant

flatly refused. Thereupon, he threatened the appellant that her career would suffer badly," the judgment said.

On August 29, 2023, the woman was removed as Director, Centre of Financial, Regulatory and Governance Studies.

The LCC dismissed her complaint as time-barred, noting that it came nearly eight months after the April 2023 incident, beyond the maximum six-month period allowed under the Sexual Harassment of Women at Workplace (Prevention, Prohibition and Redressal) Act, 2013 (POSH Act).

The single judge allowed her petition and directed a fresh hearing on the grounds that she was subjected to threat of detrimental treatment in her employment and the Vice-Chancellor created an intimidating, offensive and hostile work environment for her.

A single judge of the Calcutta High Court later revived the complaint, holding that the intimidation and hostile work environment continued after April 2023, keeping the complaint within the prescribed time limit. However, a division bench overturned this decision in December 2024, reasoning that subsequent administrative actions.

Shobhit Gupta

Shobhit Gupta is a sub-editor at News18.com and covers India and International news. He is interested in day to day political affairs in India and geopolitics. He earned his BA Journalism (Hons) degree from Ben...Read More

Shobhit Gupta is a sub-editor at News18.com and covers India and International news. He is interested in day to day political affairs in India and geopolitics. He earned his BA Journalism (Hons) degree from Ben...

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