HC judge: Christian co-ed studies unsafe for girls, feel parents

Refusing to quash the second show cause notice issued to a Madras Christian College (MCC) faculty member Samuel Tennyson facing sexual harassment charges from at least 34 girl students doing their third year Zoology course, Justice S Vaidyanathan said, “This Court feels it appropriate to point out that Christian missionaries are always on the source of attack one way or the other and in the present era, there are several accusations against them for indulging in compulsory conversion of people from other religions into Christianity.”

“Now, 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 and though they impart good education, the preaching of morality is a million-dollar question,” Justice Vaidyanathan said.

He also noted “as long as a religion is practiced in streets in lieu of its worship places, like Temple, Mosque, Church, etc., such devastation, as in the present case, does occur and will be mushrooming.”

However, Justice Vaidyanathan, unwilling to go into the aspect of who is at fault in the present case, raised a query as to whether the laws enacted for safeguarding the interest of women are invoked by them for genuine reasons. “Certain laws, which are in existence for easy access to women, lend itself 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,” he said while noting that the Supreme Court on realising the gross misuse of anti-dowry law (498-A), had termed such acts as “Legal Terrorism”.

As per the case, Samuel Tennyson, an Assistant Professor in the Zoology Department, had accompanied 46 third-year students on an industrial tour from between January 9 to 14, 2019 to Bangalore, Mysore and Coorg. But at the end of it, complaints were received from 34 students alleging sexual assault on them by one Dr Raveen while Samuel was charged for supporting Raveen.