INTERNAL COMPLAINTS COMMITTEE
AIMS AND OBJECTIVES OF THE COMMITTEE:
a) Prevention, prohibition and redressal of sexual harassment of women employees and students in higher educational institutions
b) Redressal of students’ grievances related to:
ACADEMIC:
a) Prospectus and admission
b) Scholarships
c) Departments
d) Student Body
e) Libraries, Laboratories, etc.
NON-ACADEMIC:
a) College Administration
b) Hostel Administration
c) Fees
d) Infrastructure
e) Co-curricular and Extra-curricular Activities of the Institute
RESPONSIBILITIES OF INTERNAL COMPLAINTS COMMITTEE: THE INTERNAL COMPLAINTS COMMITTEE SHALL:
1. Provide assistance if an employee or a student chooses to file a complaint with the police.
2. 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.
3. 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 as required during the pendency of the complaint, or also provide for the transfer of the offender.
4. Ensure that victims or witnesses are not victimized or discriminated against while dealing with complaints of sexual harassment; and
5. Ensure prohibition of retaliation or adverse action against a covered individual because the employee or the student is engaged in protected activity.
MODE OF SUBMISSION OF COMPLAINT/ GRIEVANCE:
Complaints/ grievances, if any, can be communicated to the concerned authorities in the following ways:
1. For sexual harassment cases, the University Grants Commission Notification Dated 2nd May, 2016, Part 7 shall be followed.
2. For other complaints, the following mechanisms shall be followed:
a. Online submission through Grievance Portal of the Institute website.
b. Complaint Box.
c. Written complaints addressed to ICC
MODE / PROCESS OF REDRESSAL:
1. In cases of sexual harassment and ragging, the Committee shall follow “Grievance Redressal Mechanism outlined in University Grants Commission Notification Dated 2nd May, 2016 Part 5, 8, 9, 10, 11 and 12.
2. The lawyer/social worker of the ICC may be called upon to advice the ICC, if and when necessary.
IN RELATION TO OTHER GRIEVANCES:
1. An aggrieved person is required to submit a complaint to the ICC within one month from the date of the incident and in case of a series of incidents within a period of one month from the date of the last incident.
2. Whether complaints/grievances, other than sexual harassment cases, should be addressed/inquired into/redressed shall be at the discretion of the Internal Complaints Committee after thorough review by the Committee.
3. The ICC shall collaborate with other committees/sub-committees/ cells/ and convene joint meetings as and when necessary, depending on the type of grievances/complaints to be resolved.
4. The ICC shall, upon receipt of the complaint, set up inquiry within one week (7 days) if it finds the complaint/grievance reasonable.
5. The inquiry/redressal shall have to be completed within a period of ninety days from the receipt of the complaint.
6. The ICC may refer cases to the Principal and/or the Academic Council. If and when necessary, ICC may recommend the Principal and/or Academic Council to take action. ICC shall furnish the required documents if/when it has transferred cases to the Principal and/or the Academic Council.
7. Inquiry reports, with recommendations, if any, may be submitted to the Academic Council, if the Committee finds it necessary.
8. The ICC shall, upon completion of the inquiry, send a copy of the report to the victim/ aggrieved person/ complainant.
