Congress MP Bimol Akoijam gets interim protection from arrest in JNU sex harassment case

The Congress MP has rejected sexual harassment allegations after his dismissal from JNU. He called the action a witch hunt after the university enquiry found the accusations substantiated.

In Short

• Rouse Avenue Court pauses Bimol Akoijam's arrest, issues notice to Delhi Police
• Delhi Police filed FIR after his dismissal from JNU in October
• 11 women students accused him of sexual harassment at JNU

Congress MP Angomcha Bimol Akoijam has been granted interim protection from arrest until Thursday in a sexual harassment case involving 11 women students who accused him of misconduct when he was a professor at Jawaharlal Nehru University (JNU).

The development came a day after the Delhi High Court paused JNU's decision to sack him and issued a notice to the university on Akoijam's petition challenging his dismissal and listed the matter for hearing in January.

During today's hearing, the Rouse Avenue Court also issued a notice to the Delhi Police on Akoijam's anticipatory bail petition and paused his arrest for the next two days.

The Delhi Police registered an FIR against Akoijam, who taught at JNU's School of Social Sciences, on October 11, just two days after he was dismissed by the varsity.

The students had filed complaints against him in May, alleging that he invited them to his campus residence under the pretext of meetings or gatherings and attempted to sexually harass them. Some even accused him of making obscene and inappropriate remarks during classes.

His dismissal came after the university's Internal Complaints Committee found the allegations to be substantiated.

The Congress leader has rejected the allegations, calling his dismissal from JNU a “witch hunt”.

Akoijam accused the university of harassment and alleged that it had disregarded established procedures and denied him an opportunity to respond to the committee's findings, despite its enquiry holding the charges to be substantiated.

Speaking to India Today TV earlier, the Congress MP called the university's internal enquiry a "khap panchayat" and challenged his accusers to prove the charges and said he would resign from Parliament if the allegations against him were proved.

He described the controversy as an "obscene spectacle" and rejected the allegations and accused the media of circulating what he called false and misleading claims.

Outraged by the allegations, the BJP held protests last month to demand his resignation as an MP. Manipur Chief Minister Yumnam Khemchand Singh also called for him to step down, while former chief minister N Biren Singh questioned Rahul Gandhi's support for the MP.

On October 13, a delegation of BJP women MPs, including Manipur BJP chief and Rajya Sabha MP A Sharda Devi, met President Droupadi Murmu, seeking action against Akoijam, his suspension from the Lok Sabha and protection for the students who filed complaints.

- Ends