Tamil Nadu: Women commission directs Loyola College to pay Rs 64.3 lakh compensation to sexual harassment victim

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Chennai: In a suo motu decision, the Tamil Nadu State Commission for Women has ordered Chennai’s Loyola College to immediately pay a compensation (with interest and without delay) of Rs 64.30 lakhs to former staff. The compensation covers remuneration for 81 months, damages for mental agony, unkind words of sexual harassment and for filing a false complaint against the victim.

The Commission has also found that the victim has had a very good track record and that there was no reason for terminating her service and noted that the Loyola College has abruptly stopped her from work, deliberately.

When contacted, Loyola College’s counsel told Zee Media that they had not received the Order copy. It was added that they informed the Women’s Commission Chairman of the matter being Sub-judice in the Madras High Court and why they (Women’s Commission) shouldn’t proceed on this.

“We will challenge it,” they said. 

However, the Chairperson of the TN State Commission for Women maintains that it was for the college to look into this issue, render justice and for the Rector to take action.

“We are an independent body and have the rights to probe. This issue was brought before us by the victim (a senior citizen) who had been without a job and an income for several years,” Dr Kannegi Packianathan, IAS (R) told Zee Media. 

“The Society of Jesus (Jesuits), which is the body that controls the working of Loyola college should understand that exposing a crime cannot be treated as committing a crime. If it is treated that way, then you’re being ruled by criminals,” the victim’s son, who is also an alumnus of Loyola College said. 

During their enquiry and visits to the college, the Commission found that the victim’s original certificates were not found in the college premises and that the victim had not been given a relieving order when she was verbally asked to stay away from work. 

Despite the rules demanding that a college inform the Directorate of College Education when terminating a staff, it was found that no such letter had been sent.

According to the Tamil Nadu State Commission for Women, the donations that Loyola receives from alumni should be accounted for in a separate Alumni Funds account and the association has to be duly registered under the Societies Act. 

However, the Rector said that this was not being done. Instead, the alumni funds come under the Loyola College Society. Though the Loyola College Society is registered, the funds from alumni should be deposited in a separate account duly registered under the Societies Act.

The allegations of Corruption and Sexual harassment (as per the Writ Petition) A 2016 Writ petition filed by the victim in the Madras High Court, accused a former college official cum Priest Rev Fr Xavier Alphonse SJ of corruption and sexual harassment. 

The victim had been serving as an Administrator at the Loyola College in Chennai since July 2010 and her duties were related to Loyola Development Office as well as the Alumni Association. She had been required to report to the Director, Loyola Development Office as well as Director, Alumni Association. 

While she had reported to Rev Fr Casimir Raj SJ, Director of the Alumni Association at the time of joining in the college, Rev Fr Xavier Alphonse SJ, took over as the Director of the Alumni Association in the year 2012. 

Six months into Xavier Alphonse’s tenure, she had noticed certain wrongdoings and had questioned the dubious methods used by him, to siphon about Rs 1 crore lying in the corpus of the Loyola Alumni Association into his personal trust. It is alleged that he also misused the Scholarship scheme provided for by the management by awarding scholarships to ineligible candidates.

On e-mailing her allegations to the Loyola management in August 2013, they had curtailed the financial powers of Alphonse. The management also directed that all payments towards the Alumni Association shall be done only under the endorsement of the campus treasurer of the College. The Principal had even replied, acknowledging the complaint mail on the same day. 

Following this, the victim states in her affidavit that Rev Fr Xavier Alphonse started harassing and abusing her at every possible instance and sometimes behaved in a manner unbecoming of a reverend priest.

“In fact, Alphonse attempted to even create a rift in my family. I brought these matters to the notice of the management of the Loyola College who would then try to pacify me, but failed to take any meaningful action and were indirectly shielding the nefarious activities of Xavier Alphonse,” the petition reads. 

In the months thereafter, Mary alleges rampant corruption by Alphonse while handling the payments received while conducting a fundraising event organized by the College Alumni association. The event Star Nite (Kalloori Padhai), which saw many celebrities in attendance, was meant to raise funds for a new Commerce Block in the campus. 

However, it is stated that Alphonse compelled many sponsors and donors to draw the payment cheques in favour of his personal Trust and tried to illegally divert the funds.

“He also subverted the generated funds from the said program by distributing a large number of free complimentary tickets for this program to his family and friends’ circle and thereby damaged the avowed object of the said program to realize its full potential,” it is alleged.

However, she claims that the College and its then Rector turned a blind eye towards her complaints regarding the corruption in the financial dealing related to Star Nite.

An e-mail that Mary sent to the College management in September 2013 did provide some respite - she was transferred internally and posted as the Rector’s Secretary.

Even following the internal posting, she was continuously harassed by the said Rev Fr Xavier Alphonse SJ, over telephone and in-person at her office in the campus.

“Whenever I brought these to the knowledge of the management including the Third Respondent herein I was dissuaded by them from pursuing any action against the Rev Fr Xavier Alphonse,” the writ stated.

She says that management had warned her about the reputation of the Loyola College being sullied when the matter is out in the public domain and they asked her to wait until the management transfers Alphonse to another institution. 

There were even attempts by Alphonse to divert the case by harassing the victim’s son who is an alumnus of the Loyola college and an executive member of its Alumni association. The victim had also written to the Police regarding the same.

After the victim informed the Management of her mail to the Police, the Rector had in September 2014 asked her to stop reporting to the College for work until Alphonse was transferred, following which she could resume duty. She was also assured that her salary for her period of absence would be paid once she resumed duty.  

She had also highlighted the wrongdoings via e-mail (In Sept 2014) to Fr Provincial of the Madurai Jesuit Province, The Provincial, Society of Jesus as they are the highest authority that runs the Loyola College. Despite this, The Provincial, Society of Jesus had not initiated any action or enquiry as required under the Sexual Harassment of Women at Workplace (Prevention, Prohibition and Redressal) Act, 2013.

While the victim had gone on leave on the Rector’s assurance, Alphonse had been moved to St Joseph’s College, Trichy in June 2015. But when Mary returned to the college seeking to resume work, she was told by the Rector to wait until he contacted her. As that response hadn’t arrived, Mary went to the College on December 18, 2015, and met the Principal to understand the status. But the Principal had not responded properly and indicated that should not be able to resume duty. 

Given that she had neither resigned nor been officially terminated, in December 2015, she mailed the college management stating that as a regular employee, her services cannot be terminated abruptly without any enquiry or show cause notice. Particularly when the college has not issued any written order of termination.

Further, the management and other concerned parties had not conducted any enquiry on the sexual harassment allegations against Xavier Alphonse, in violation of the provisions of the Sexual harassment of Women at Workplace (Prevention, Prohibition and Redressal) Act, 2013 and the Vishaka Guidelines. 

Hence, she approached the Court by filing a Writ Petition for taking action against the College management, concerned higher authorities, challenging the termination of employment.