Bombay HC on student accused of sexual harassment

The Bombay High Court on Thursday said the indefinite expulsion of a student of Maharashtra National Law University for ‘repeated’ sexual harassment would result in his ‘academic death’. Live the law reported.

A bench of Justices Atul Chandurkar and Rajesh Patil made this observation while disposing of a petition filed by the final year law student of the university.

The student had moved the court against an order passed by the vice-chancellor of Maharashtra National Law University on June 21, expelling him based on the findings of the institute’s internal complaints committee.

He was accused of repeated sexual harassment by several girls at the university over two years Live the law. The Internal Complaints Committee subsequently found him guilty of two investigations, which led to the deportation order against him. Bar and sofa reported.

On Thursday, the court said a deportation order for “an indefinite and indefinite period would be harsh and would result in the ‘academic death’ of ‘X’ (petitioner)”. It would also detract from the education and training he has undergone since he was admitted to the program in 2019-’20, it added.

“The consequence of such an expulsion would continuously have a drastic effect on the academic life of a student,” the court said. “All this would also result in deprivation and denial of education…The consequences resulting from an indefinite and indefinite deportation order are drastic and harsh.”

The bank upheld the expulsion for only one academic year, as opposed to the indefinite period imposed by the university.

The petitioner was also ordered to perform community service during the academic year 2024-’25, adding that the university must declare his results upon completion.

“This would result in ‘X’ suffering the penalty of expulsion for one academic year and also being required to provide community services until the end of the current academic year,” the report said. “The loss of an academic year due to these facts would, in our opinion, be proportionate to the misconduct of ‘X’.”

The bank added that its approach should not be interpreted “as a result of an exercise in fairness, but as an exercise in applying the doctrine of proportionality, taking into account the indefinite period of deportation”.

In his petition, the student argued that he had an excellent academic record. Live the law reported. He alleged that the investigation process against him was “flawed, biased and contrary to the principles of natural justice”.

However, counsel for one of the complainants said the petitioner was a “repeat offender” and had “molested several girls” in two years. The petitioner faced an investigation by the Internal Complaints Committee following a complaint filed by another girl in 2022, the counsel noted.