The Delhi High Court has said that Jawaharlal Nehru University (JNU) administration cannot dismiss Professor Angomcha Bimol Akoijam from service without issuing a notice regarding sexual harassment complaints and without giving him an opportunity to explain his side in person.
The court made this observation in an order staying the JNU administration’s decision to dismiss Professor Akoijam, a Congress MP from the School of Social Sciences.
Based on complaints related to sexual harassment, the Internal Complaints Committee (ICC) conducted an inquiry against Aghojam, but those complaints were made only by some other students and not by the affected parties, Aghojam’s counsel told the court. In the ICC report dated October 9, it was also alleged that the student representative refused to sign.
JNU’s counsel told the court that Professor Akhojjam’s dismissal was carried out in accordance with the University Grants Commission’s (UGC) regulations on preventing and redressing sexual harassment in higher education institutions, rather than the procedures specified in the JNU Act.
In this regard, Judge Anup J. Bhamani stated in the order issued on November 2: Whatever the other subsidiary rules may say, at this stage it is not acceptable to impose the severe punishment of dismissal from service on a person without issuing a notice seeking an explanation and without giving him an opportunity to explain in person the punishment that is to be imposed on him.
The court ordered that the implementation of the order dated October 9, 2024, and all actions taken by the university administration on the basis of that order, be stayed until the next hearing in this court. It also adjourned the next hearing of this case to January 25.
In May, 11 female students filed sexual harassment complaints against Agoijam. Allegations arose that he had invited female students to his campus residence in the name of meetings or gatherings and attempted to sexually harass them.
Based on those complaints, the JNU administration dismissed Aghojam from his professorship on October 9 last year. Challenging this, Aghojam filed a petition in the High Court.
A few days after he was dismissed, the Delhi Police registered a First Information Report (FIR) against Aghojam on charges of sexual harassment.
It was registered at the Vasant Kunj North police station based on a complaint filed by the university’s chief security officer on October 11. The police said an investigation has been initiated into the matter.
