Allahabad HC sets aside 2006 termination of harassment accused professor

Prayagraj, Dec 24 (PTI) The Allahabad High Court has set aside an almost two-decade-old dismissal of a professor of Motilal Nehru National Institute of Technology (MNNIT), who was accused of emotional and physical harassment by an ex-student.

The court deemed the relationship between the professor and the student as misconduct and not sexual harassment.

The professor was dismissed from service on allegations of immoral conduct.

Justice Saurabh Shyam Shamshery, while allowing the writ petition filed by Rajesh Singh, a lecturer in the department of computer science and engineering, observed that while the petitioner may not have adhered to the high moral standards expected from a teacher, his dismissal in 2006 was "shockingly disproportionate." The disciplinary action against the petitioner was initiated following a complaint in 2003 by a former student who had completed her master's of computer education between 1997 and 2000.

In her complaint, the student alleged emotional and physical harassment and claimed that the petitioner forced a physical relationship upon her during her student years.

The complaint was filed three years after she had left the institute and after the petitioner's engagement to another woman.

A five-member committee initially constituted by MNNIT in Allahabad expressed reservations about adjudicating allegations of rape and noted the belated timing of the complaint.

Subsequently, a one-man inquiry commission headed by a retired judge was appointed.

The petitioner admitted to having a relationship with the complainant but maintained that it was consensual and continued even after she had left the institute.

On the basis of the inquiry report, the institute terminated Rajesh Singh on February 28, 2006, citing immoral conduct and apprehension of future misconduct.

Challenging the termination, Rajesh Singh contended that the disciplinary proceedings were vitiated by violation of principles of natural justice, particularly denial of the right to cross-examine witnesses.

He argued that no FIR was ever registered, no criminal prosecution followed, and the findings of the inquiry were limited to alleged immoral conduct and favouritism, not sexual harassment or coercion.

Opposing the plea, MNNIT authorities argued that a teacher occupied a position of trust and authority and that any intimate relationship with a student amounted to serious misconduct, undermining the moral fabric of an educational institution.

It was submitted that since the petitioner had admitted the relationship, the inquiry could not be faulted, and dismissal was justified.

The court observed that the relationship appeared to be consensual, continued for more than three years after the complainant had left the institute, and was not followed by any criminal action. The court noted that the complaint appeared to have been triggered by the failure of a proposal of marriage between the parties due to inter-religious differences and parental opposition.

The court observed that, at best, the allegations could fall within the realm of a dispute arising out of a false promise of marriage, but the charge of forced physical relations did not inspire confidence.

The court also held that the punishment of dismissal was imposed largely on speculative apprehension of future misconduct rather than on any repeated or continuing violation.

Accordingly, the high court in its judgment dated December 16 quashed the termination order dated February 28, 2006, and remanded the matter to the competent authority to reconsider the quantum of punishment in accordance with law. PTI COR RAJ VN VN