Internal Complaints Committee
The committee was established in the college as per the norms of The Sexual Harassment of Women at Workplace (Prevention, Prohibition and Redressal) Act, 2013, promulgated by the Government of India on 9th December 2013 after the Nirbhaya incident, 2012.
However, based on the aforesaid Act and Saksham report of MHRD, a new regulation was propagated by the UGC on 2nd May 2016 termed University Grants Commission (Prevention, Prohibition and Redressal of sexual harassment of women employees and students in Higher Educational Institutions) Regulation, 2015, all educational institutes need to set up an Internal Complaints Committee.
ICC gives awareness on Prevention of sexual harassment and abuses. Staff and Students are free to report any kind of sexual harassment. The aim of this committee was prevention, prohibition and redressal of sexual harassment of non-teaching or teaching women employee and student of the college.
As per the UGC regulation, 2015 Sexual Harassment means:-
- An unwanted conduct with sexual undertones, persistent conduct which demeans, humiliates or creates hostile environment is termed as Sexual Harassment and it includes :-
- Sexual harassment includes any unwelcome physical, verbal or non-verbal conduct of sexual nature;
- Demand or request for sexual remarks;
- Physical contact and advances; or
- Showing pornography.
- Any one (or more than one or all) of the following circumstances, if it occurs or is present in relation or connected with any behavior that has explicit or implicit sexual undertones :-
- Implied or explicit promise of preferential treatment as quid pro or quo for sexual favors;
- Implied or explicit threat of detrimental treatment in the conduct of work;
- Implied or explicit threat about the present or future status of person concerned;
- Creating an intimidating offensive or hostile learning environment;
- Humiliating treatment likely to affect the health, safety, dignity or physical integrity of the person concerned.
Internal Complaints Committee (ICC)
| Sr. No. | Name of the Faculty | Designation in Committee | Contact No. |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | Dr. Shirin Shaikh | Presiding Officer | 8459996847 |
| 2. | Mrs. Lubna Shaikh | Faculty Member | |
| 3. | Mrs. Lubna Khan | Faculty Member | |
| 4. | Mrs. Rizwana Khot | Non-teaching Staff Member | |
| 5. | Mr. Sayed Ismail P. | Non-teaching Staff Member | 8600063002 |
| 6. | Mrs. Ashraf Adam Mulla | External Member (NGO) | |
| 7. | Miss. Nimra Momin | Student Representative | |
| 8. | Ms. Hanan Eihab Azad Shahab | Student Representative |
Functioning of ICC
- Objectives of the Internal Complaints Committee: The Internal Complaint Committee is an educational complaint redressal mechanism for the members of faculty, staff and students of the Poona College. Its objectives are:
- To provide a neutral, confidential and supportive environment for teaching and non-teaching women employees and the students on the campus.
- To advice complainants of means of resolution as specified by the legislation.
- To ensure fair and timely resolution of sexual harassment complaints.
- To promote awareness about sexual harassment amongst students of both gender through educational initiatives that encourages and fosters a respectful and safe campus environment.
- Procedure for filing or reporting a complaint- The Complaint Mechanism Procedure:
Any aggrieved woman or student may make, in writing, a complaint of sexual harassment at workplace to the ICC, within a period three months from the date of incident. If she is unable to make a complaint in writing, the ICC will render all reasonable assistance to her for making the complaint in writing. If the ICC is satisfied that the circumstances were such, which prevented the woman from filing a complaint within a period of three months, it may extend the time limit not exceeding three months.
The complainant needs to submit six copies of the complaint along with the supporting documents and names and addresses of the witnesses to the ICC. On receipt of the complaint, the Committee will send one of the copies to the respondent within a period of seven working days and ask the respondent to file his reply to the complaint along with his list of documents and names and addresses of witnesses, within a period not exceeding ten working days from the date of receipt of the complaint by him. Legal practitioner is not allowed to represent the case at any stage of the proceedings before the Committee. - Who can complain in ICC:
As per this regulation, teaching, non – teaching staff and students of any gender can make complaint of sexual harassment in writing to the ICC. - Punishment for misconduct including monetary compensation:
- Any employee, if found guilty by the ICC shall be punished as per the service rules.
- Also, if any student is found guilty, the student will be punished based on the severity of the offence. The student’s privileges such as access to library, scholarships, allowances, auditoria, halls of residence, transportation and identity card will be withheld. Also, the student will be suspended or restricted entry in college campus for specific period. Student may also be expelled or denied readmission in the college.
- Apart from disciplinary action which the ICC recommends to be taken against the guilty employee or student, the law also provides restitution to the aggrieved person for emotional trauma and losses incurred in the form of monetary compensation.
