HC takes suo motu cognisance of filming of students in women washroom during IIT Delhi fest

The Investigating Officer (IO) of the case at hand shall exercise utmost discretion during the investigation and ensure the anonymity of the women involved, said the Bench.

New Delhi: The Delhi High Court has taken the suo motu cognizance of a media report about an incident wherein various women students of Delhi University were “secretly filmed” in the washroom while they were changing costumes in a washroom. The HC also directed Delhi Police to file a status report detailing the action taken against the accused associated with the incident.

The bench headed by Chief Justice of Delhi also consisting of Justice Sanjeev Narula on October 9, 2023, directed that the Delhi Police shall, within two weeks from today, file a status report detailing the action taken against the accused associated with the incident at IIT-D on October 6, 2023.

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The Investigating Officer (IO) of the case at hand shall exercise utmost discretion during the investigation and ensure the anonymity of the women involved, said the Bench.

Prompt steps shall be taken to prevent the dissemination of photographs clicked/videos recorded by the accused. In the event such media is circulated on any of the social media platforms, the concerned Deputy Commissioner of Police as well as the IO are directed to undertake immediate steps for their take-down, in accordance with law, directed Delhi High Court.

The court further directed that the Universities shall submit a report indicating their existing policy qua security measures during college festivals held at their premises.
Court noted that a newspaper article titled “Harassment at college fests leaves students anguished, shaken”, published on October 9, 2023, brings to the fore the lapses in security measures employed for annual college festivals organized by universities across the State, resulting in injuries, violations, and trauma for students attending such festivals.

The aforesaid newspaper report notes that during the Rendezvous festival, organized by the Indian Institute of Technology, Delhi [“IIT-D”] on October 6, 2023, a group of students enrolled in Bharati College, University of Delhi, who had been invited to participate in a fashion show event, spotted an individual secretly filming them while they were changing costumes in a washroom.

Upon reviewing the CCTV footage, the individual was identified to be a part of IIT-D’s housekeeping staff. This episode has left the victims distraught and has understandably raised concerns regarding the misuse of the videos, including their circulation on various social media platforms.

Unfortunately, this Court has been confronted with several cases of student harassment, highlighting serious lapses at the concerned university’s level in the design and implementation of security measures at college festivals, said the Court.

In our opinion, it is imperative that adequate security measures are put in place, allowing the students to attend such events without any impending fear of experiencing such acts of violation. Thus, in view of the afore-noted episode, this Court deems it appropriate to take suo motu cognizance of the issue of security breaches, particularly with respect to female attendees, at the festivals organized by colleges/ universities in Delhi-NCR, the Court said.