CHENNAI: The

on Friday observed that there is a general feeling that Christian educational institutions are ‘highly unsafe’ for the future of girl children.

Refusing to quash the show-cause notice issued to a Madras Christian College (MCC) faculty member facing sexual harassment charge from at least 34 girl students doing third year zoology course in the college, Justice S Vaidyanathan said: “There is a general feeling among parents of students, especially female students, that co-educational study in Christian institutions is highly unsafe for the future of their children.”

The judge further said

always came under attack for some issue or the other, and added, “in the present era, there are several accusations against them for indulging in compulsory conversion of people of other religions into Christianity…Though they impart good education, their

of

morality

will be a

.”

Referring to misuse of several laws that had originally been brought to safeguard the welfare of women, Justice Vaidyanathan observed that it is time the government amended those laws to protect innocent men too. “It is right time for the government to think of suitable amendment to those laws in order to prevent its misuse so as to safeguard the interest of the innocent masculinity too.”

The judge wondered whether such beneficial legislations were being invoked by women for genuine reasons.

“Certain laws lend themselves to easy misuse that women will find it hard to resist the temptation to ‘teach a lesson’ to the male members and will file frivolous and false cases. A similar trend is already being observed in the case of anti-dowry law (498-A), which is being misused to such an extent that the Supreme Court has termed it ‘legal terrorism’,” said Justice Vaidyanathan.

As for the present case at hand, it all began when assistant professor Samuel Tennyson of Tambaram-based MCC moved the high court to quash the findings of a committee of enquiry (internal complaints committee) which probed the sexual harassment complaint him and to quash the consequential second show-cause notice to him on May 24, 2019.

The harassment occurred during an academic tour to Bengaluru, Mysuru and Coorg in January this year.

While Tennyson claimed that the internal complaints committee had not given him certain documents and statements he had sought to be used in his defence, the college and the committee said he had been given sufficient opportunity to defend himself and to cross-examine the complainants.

Acceding to their submissions, Justice Vaidyanathan declined to interfere with both the findings of the committee and the second show-cause notice to Tennyson, and said: “This court finds justification in the act of the committee…In the considered opinion of this court, there is no violation of the principles of natural justice by the committee in the conduct of the inquiry and this court finds no infirmity with the report of the committee.”