Fri Dec 06 18:34:35 UTC 2024: **Madurai High Court Orders SOP to Protect Identities of Harassment Victims**
MADURAI, INDIA (December 7, 2024) – The Madurai Bench of the Madras High Court has ordered the implementation of a Standard Operating Procedure (SOP) to protect the identities of victims of mental, emotional, and sexual harassment. The court directed the High Court Registry to present a copy of its judgment to the Chief Justice, urging the formulation of the SOP and Practice Directions by the Civil and Criminal Rules Committees.
The new guidelines will mandate the redaction of victim names and identifying information from all case records except the original sealed copy. Access to the original copy will be restricted, only available if there’s a challenge to or denial of the victim’s identity. The court noted that similar redaction protocols are already in place for POCSO Act cases.
This ruling follows a case where a professor was accused of sexually harassing a research scholar. The court set aside a previous order granting relief to the professor, ordered the university to take action, and imposed a ₹50,000 fine payable to the scholar. The judges highlighted the increasing incidents of harassment in academic institutions, attributing it to the male-dominated environment. The court emphasized a zero-tolerance policy for all forms of harassment in universities.
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