SC Bar Association moves court over Dayanand Univ harassment case

The SCBA (Supreme Court Bar Association) has filed a petition in the Supreme Court seeking a detailed inquiry into shocking allegations that female sanitation workers at Haryana’s Maharshi Dayanand University (MDU) were asked to prove they were menstruating by sending images of their private parts.

The plea, filed by the apex lawyers’ body, calls for directions to the Centre and the Haryana government to probe the incident and to frame national guidelines ensuring that the right to dignity, health, bodily autonomy and privacy of women and girls is not violated during menstruation.

The petition follows the registration of a case on 31 October, when three persons linked to MDU were booked for sexual harassment and criminal intimidation under relevant sections of the Indian Penal Code (IPC). Police said the university incident took place on 26 October, just hours before Haryana governor Ashim Kumar Ghosh was scheduled to visit the Rohtak campus.

According to the FIR, two contractual supervisors, employed through Haryana Kaushal Rozgar Nigam Ltd, allegedly forced the sanitation workers to continue cleaning despite their unease and then demanded photographic proof that they were menstruating.

“We told them we were unwell due to our periods, but they demanded that we click photos of our private parts to prove it. When we refused, we were abused and threatened with dismissal,” one of the workers, employed at MDU for 11 years, said in her complaint.

The women alleged that the supervisors claimed they were acting on the instructions of assistant registrar Shyam Sunder, who has denied issuing any such orders.

Following public outrage, the university suspended both supervisors and announced an internal probe into the matter.

Police officials at PGIMS police station confirmed that the accused were booked for sexual harassment, intent to insult the modesty of women, criminal intimidation, and use of force, adding that charges under the Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes (Prevention of Atrocities) Act were also being considered.

The SCBA, in its plea, said the case highlights a deeply disturbing pattern of institutional insensitivity and underscores the need for legally binding protocols to protect women workers, especially those in unorganised and contractual sectors.

“This case is not just about one university — it’s about ensuring that no woman in India is ever humiliated for a biological process,” an SCBA member said.