Rachana Dubey (BOMBAY TIMES; February 2, 2019)

Early October, 2018, the #MeToo movement raised its head in India. Director-producer Vinta Nanda was among the first few women to come out with her experience; she accused actor Alok Nath of sexually assaulting her in the 1990s. Apart from moving court in the matter, she had also approached the Internal Complaints Committee of the Indian Film and Television Directors’ Association, formed in keeping with the guidelines of the POSH Act of 2013.

The committee, comprising advocates Mrunalini Deshmukh and Vibhav Krishna, filmmakers like Shrabani Deodhar (the presiding officer of the committee) and Bhavna Talwar, Ashoke Pandit (President, IFTDA), Ashok Dubey (from the Federation of Western India Cine Employees) and Nandini Sarkar (from the NGO CQuel) investigated the allegations in compliance with the principles of natural justice, equity and fair play.

The ICC, exercising its power under the POSH Act to summon a person for investigation, had called Alok Nath to present his side of the story. However, he had refused to participate in the inquiry despite being given three opportunities. “Alok blatantly challenged the ICC and defied the summons to attend the meetings. In effect, he has refused to cooperate with the mandate of the IFTDA to provide a secure workplace for women. On recommendations of the association’s POSH Committee, FWICE (the mother body representing all the crafts and technicians in the industry) has issued a sixmonth non-cooperation directive to Alok,” says Ashoke Pandit.

He adds, “The awareness around sexual misconduct and the #MeToo movement have together encouraged women to speak up. POSH Act has given them the confidence to call out sexual predators. Today, any complainant who has the courage to speak up against unwelcome behaviour, regardless of who the perpetrator is, is not an object of pity or sympathy. She’s a real survivor. Our endeavor is to have zero tolerance for incidents of sexual harassment and value every individual, promoting a work environment in which persons of both sexes work and complement each other as equals.”
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Avinash Lohana (MUMBAI MIRROR; February 2, 2019)

On Friday, the Indian Film & Television Directors’ Association (IFTDA) announced that its mother body, Federation of Western India Cine Employees (FWICE), has issued a six-month non-cooperation directive to Alok Nath. The 62-year-old actor has been accused of rape by writer-director Vinta Nanda. Earlier, the Cine and TV Artistes Association (CINTAA) had expelled him following a no-show at the body’s meeting on November 12 to present his case.

IFTDA president Ashoke Pandit informed that the sexual harassment complaint filed by its fellow member Vinta was shared with the POSH (Prevention of Sexual Harassment) Committee and investigated in accordance with the POSH Act. “Alok Nath was summoned thrice by the ICC (Internal Complaints Committee) but he didn’t turn up for any of the meetings. Since he blatantly refused to co-operate with IFTDA’s mandate of providing a secure workplace for women, we reached out to FWICE for a six-month ban which was approved on Thursday. Alok Nath has been duly informed,” stated Pandit.

When Mirror reached out to Alok Nath, he refused to comment on the ban. “The law will take its course,” the actor stated shortly.

Earlier, following the POSH Investigation Closure Report of December 7, 2018, IFTDA, on the ICC’s recommendation, had suspended Sajid Khan’s membership for a period of one year with immediate effect. The ban will be reviewed after a year. The director has been accused of sexual harassment by a number of women and was replaced by Farhad Samji in Sajid Nadiadwala’s ongoing production Housefull 4.