The Delhi High Court stayed JNU's dismissal of professor and Congress MP Bimol Akoijam. The court found prima facie that the severe penalty required notice and a personal hearing.Angomcha Bimol Akoijam was dismissed by JNU over sexual harassment allegations.
The Delhi High Court has stayed Jawaharlal Nehru University's decision to dismiss professor Angomcha Bimol Akoijam over sexual harassment allegations, saying such a severe penalty could not have been imposed without a show-cause notice and a hearing, news agency Press Trust of India reported.Akoijam, a professor at JNU's School of Social Sciences and the Congress MP from the Inner Manipur Lok Sabha constituency, was dismissed on October 9 after complaints of sexual harassment.Justice Anup J Bhambhani said, "This court is of the prima facie view that regardless of what other ancillary regulations may provide, it is difficult to accept, at least at this stage, that the drastic and severe 'major' penalty of dismissal from service could have been imposed upon the petitioner without issuing to him a show cause notice and without granting to him a personal hearing in relation to the penalty proposed to be imposed."The court granted interim relief to Akoijam on November 2, and the order was later uploaded on its website. "The effect and operation of order dated 09.10.2026 and all actions taken by respondent No. 1 university pursuant to that order, shall remain stayed till the next date of hearing before this court," it said.
The matter has been listed for January 25.According to reports, at least 11 female students filed sexual harassment complaints against Akoijam in May. They alleged that he invited students to his campus residence on the pretext of meetings or gatherings and attempted to sexually harass them.
Some students also alleged that he made obscene and inappropriate remarks during classes. Challenging the termination order, Akoijam's counsel said the Internal Complaints Committee had conducted an inquiry into complaints purportedly filed not by the aggrieved parties but by other students.
The counsel also alleged that the student representative had refused to sign the committee's October 9 report.Akoijam's counsel argued that his dismissal violated the JNU Act because he was neither suspended nor given an opportunity to respond to the proposed penalty. The lawyer also alleged that the university administration had acted with mala fide intent and that the action was driven by vindictiveness.JNU's counsel disputed the claim that the complaints had not been filed by the aggrieved parties.
The university argued that Akoijam's dismissal was governed not by the procedure under the JNU Act but by the University Grants Commission's 2015 regulations on the prevention, prohibition and redressal of sexual harassment in higher educational institutions. Under these regulations, a notice before termination was not required, JNU submitted.The High Court issued notice on Akoijam's petition and directed the university to file its response within six weeks, PTI reported.Days after his dismissal, Delhi Police registered an FIR against Akoijam on charges of sexual harassment and insulting a woman's modesty.
The case was registered on the basis of a complaint filed by the university's chief security officer on October 11.The FIR was registered at the Vasant Kunj North police station on Sunday under Sections 75, 75(1)(i), 75(1)(iv) and 79 of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita. These provisions cover sexual harassment and acts intended to insult a woman's modesty, among other offences.
Police told PTI that an investigation had been launched.The High Court has, therefore, stayed Akoijam's dismissal until the next hearing while seeking JNU's response to his petition. The police investigation into the allegations is continuing.- Ends