The Kalakshetra issue has subsided but most media channels did not cover a very important part of the whole issue. The complaint against former Director, Leela Samson.
In an FIR copy that has surfaced that names Samson and 4 others, dated 20 July 2023, the complainant has accused Leela Samson of the derogatory and disparaging post made against her with the intent to insult my modesty.
The complainant was a dance intern at the Rukmini Devi College of Fine Arts (“RDCFA”) and has been associated with the institution for the past 7 years. The FIR states that the complaint pertains to the post made by Ms. Leela Samson, former director of the Kalakshetra Foundation on her Facebook profile in December 2022.
The post has been deleted but the complainant claims that it has brought ill repute to her name and upheaved her personal and academic life. She also accuses Samson of having written the post with a highly vindictive agenda.
The post made by Samson alleged that a male staff member indulged in acts of sexual harassment inside the campus. The alleged male staff member mentioned therein is one Mr. Haripadman who happened to be one of the complainant’s mentors and he had trained her for years together.
In the comments section of the now-deleted Facebook post made on 23 December 2022 by Leela Samson, the complainant says that various comments were made about the alleged misdemeanours committed by Mr. Haripadman and that what was particularly disconcerting was that her name was linked in an uncharitable manner with Mr. Haripadman in one of those comments on the Facebook post.
The comments said, “His victims are many. (Name hidden) had an abortion and wanted him to marry her. And so on. He had a mistress who is an intern – (name hidden) known to bully the younger students. Everyone knows. Junior students apparently ask the question – what do have to do to get a role in the concert section!”
The comment on the Facebook post mentions the complainant’s name (removed for anonymity), although misspelled makes an explicit reference to her and the FIR says that it has given rise to an immense upheaval of her personal and academic life. The contents of the comment, at first glance, besides being false and baseless, are patently derogatory, disparaging, and vituperative, which projects the complainant in an extremely disparaging manner, the FIR said.
The context, tone and tenor of Leela Samson’s post gives away that she had used the word “mistress” with a sexual connotation.
The reference to the complainant as a “mistress”, the FIR said, was an attack against her dignity and an affront to her modesty and as such attracts the provision of Section 509 of the Indian Penal Code, 1860.
Section 509 says, “Word, gesture or act intended to insult the modesty of a woman. Whoever, intending to insult the modesty of any woman, utters any words makes any sound or gesture, or exhibits any object, intending that such word or sound shall be heard, or that such gesture or object shall be seen, by such woman, or intrudes upon the privacy of such woman, (shall be punished with simple imprisonment for a term which may extend to three years, and also with fine).”
The complainant who felt wronged filed a complaint against Leela Samson during the Kalakshetra issue for unjustly damaging her reputation and publicly violating her dignity. The Adyar All Women Police Station, responsible for investigating the allegations against Kalakshetra Foundation and Haripadman, was also looking into the complaint against Leela Samson.
The police subsequently closed the complaint against Samson. When the complainant asked for the reason, she was informed that Samson claimed “mistress” meant “ejamaani” (in Tamil ejamaani means a feudal landlady) in the context of the intern giving tuitions to Haripadman’s son. As Samson had already removed her post, the police found her explanation “satisfactory” and decided to close the case.
So the Adyar AWPS Inspector investigating the #Kalakshetra case is also probing the complaint against #LeelaSamson & teachers by a student @karmayogi_06 . Complaint was closed. When @karmayogi_06 asked why, she was told… Wait for it… Mistress means Ejamani!!! (1/n) pic.twitter.com/hTBnfAXLXb
— Sandhya Ravishankar (@sandhyaravishan) May 31, 2023
The FIR that has been shared with The Commune also said that the tone of the now-deleted Facebook post and the comments section indicate that they have been made only to pursue an ulterior motive of vengeance against the Foundation and the current management members, through any means necessary, even if such means were to include the outright defamation of a young student such as the complainant.
The FIR further says, accordingly, Ms. Samson has dragged the complainant’s name into this entire episode to reinforce her self-perceived narrative of deeply rooted corruption and rot in the institution. The FIR said that Samson dragged the complainant’s name without doing any prior fact-checking. The FIR also says, “Before mentioning my name in the Facebook post, it would have been prudent and proper for Ms. Leela Samson to have checked with me about the veracity or genuineness of the rumours she was supposedly hearing about me. The same was not done. There was not even a shred of truth to the allegations mentioned in the comment.”
The complainant also stated that Mr. Hari Padman had been her mentor ever since the first post-diploma year and had been on good terms with his entire family including his wife, and children and that was the reason why she visited his residence. She underscores that there was nothing more to this other than that of a mentor and student relationship.
The Kalashetra Foundation’s Internal Complaints Committee conducted an inquiry and found no truth in the allegations made in the Facebook post about the alleged relationship.
Various media houses published articles about the inquiry, which further affected the individual’s reputation. The complainant also listed the websites where her name has been mentioned with regard to the inquiry conducted by the Internal Complaints Committee of the foundation and some of these publications can be accessed in the below links.
(a) Kalashetra Chennai has a PoSH problem. Students fume, gag order imposed, art world shaken – The Print
(b) Sexual harassment allegations at Chennai’s famous Kalakshetra, college issues gag order – The News Minute
The complainant accused specific individuals, including Nandini Nagaraj, Rekha Memon, Shanthi R Rajkamal, Nirmala Nagaraj, and Pavithra Lingendra, of contributing to their mental agony by spreading rumors and treating them poorly.
The complainant expressed strong dismay at Ms. Leela Samson’s attempt to damage their hard-earned reputation among peers. The individual blames Ms. Leela Samson’s initial Facebook post for triggering the events that caused them distress and stress. She also accused specific members of the teaching staff and fellow students of actively causing discomfort in their personal and academic life.
- Nandini Nagaraj: A member of the teaching staff who treated the complainant with visible disgust and disapproval based on baseless rumours, which adds to their mental agony.
- Rekha Menon: Another member of the teaching staff who spread gossip about the individual and Mr. Hari Padman
- Shanthi R Rajkamal: A dance tutor who made an inappropriate reference to defamatory rumours about the complainant during a public event, which further escalated her distress.
- Nirmala Nagaraj: Delivered a manipulative and condescending speech, making direct references to the rumours about the complainant and Mr. Hari Padman. This intensified the mental torture they were experiencing as all fellow students started focusing on them and the rumors.
- Pavithra Lingendra – A fellow student who was involved in spreading rumours and targeting their friends.
It must be noted that Leela Samson’s Facebook posts along with articles published by the likes of The News Minute had snowballed into a controversy with full fledged protests by students forcing the institution to close down temporarily. Dance teacher Haripadman, who became the main target of the protest was arrested and sent to Puzhal jail with his bail application being rejected by the Saidapet court.
He was subsequently granted bail by the Saidapet court on 6 June 2023 after the police failed to file chargesheet against him within the stipulated time.
It was only on 27 July 2023 that the police filed a chargesheet in the case.
While a few media outlets had reported about the chargesheet being filed against Hari Padman, none has yet reported about the FIR filed against Leela Samson and others individuals.
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