12 women from abroad move HC against Gundecha brothers accused of sexual harassment

JABALPUR/BHOPAL: Twelve women from abroad have filed an intervening application in the Madhya Pradesh High Court's principal bench in Jabalpur, seeking action against the Gundecha brothers of Bhopal-based Dhrupad Sansthan over allegations of sexual harassment against them.

Those who have filed the intervening application (IA) were once students of the Dhrupad Sansthan, who are now in the United States, Sweden, Canada, Poland, Spain, Austria and Germany.

These victims, too, have alleged that they were sexually harassed by the famous Gundecha siblings – late Ramakant Gundecha, Umakant Gundecha and Akhilesh Gundecha, who plays pakhawaj, the women's counsel Dhruv Varma told PTI.

The IA has been filed in support of an inquiry report of an Internal Complaints Committee (ICC), which investigated the sexual harassment allegations against the Gundechas of the Dhrupad Sansthan, a UNESCO-accredited institution, levelled by a woman (from abroad) in 2020, he said.

After the report found them at fault, the Gundechas moved the Madhya Pradesh high court against the findings by filing a writ petition making ICC a respondent.

The hearing of the writ petition is scheduled to be held on Tuesday (June 28), Varma said.

When PTI contacted Umakant Gundecha, 63, to get his reaction on the IA, he said, "No comments please. The matter is being heard by honourable court. We have full faith in the judiciary."

The high court has restrained all the parties in the case from going to the media (for publicity), he said.

He said their brother Ramakanth died on November 18, 2019.

Umakant Gundecha admitted that the allegations of sexual harassment have been levelled against him as well.