The Bombay High Court on Thursday, October 10, has upheld the expulsion of a student from Maharashtra National Law University (MNLU) in Mumbai for sexual harassment. The court ordered the university to release the student’s academic results after the completion of one year of community service. The student hails from a prominent family in Nagpur.
The issue began on February 26-27, 2023, when a female student reported an incident of sexual harassment. She filed her complaint with the Internal Complaints Committee (ICC) on March 1, 2023. Following an investigation, the ICC confirmed the harassment and recommended the male student’s expulsion on April 17, 2023. This was not his first offense, as he had a history of misbehavior on campus.
On June 17, 2023, MNLU’s registrar issued an expulsion order. The student appealed this decision to the vice chancellor (VC), but the appeal was dismissed on August 30, 2023. However, the VC permitted the student to sit for his final semester exams despite the dismissal. Subsequently, the student took the case to the high court.
In court, the student’s lawyers contended that an indefinite expulsion would irreparably harm his academic career. They argued that he had not been allowed to cross-examine witnesses or the complainant during the ICC process and claimed that the expulsion was excessively harsh. They emphasized that this punishment would prevent him from completing his BA LLB (Honours) program, which he began in 2019.
MNLU’s lawyer, Uday Warunjikar, defended the expulsion, arguing that the punishment was fair and necessary due to the student’s repeated offenses. He asserted that any leniency would undermine accountability in cases of serious misconduct.
The court reviewed the evidence and upheld the ICC’s findings as well as the expulsion order, but reduced the expulsion to one academic year. It mandated that the student complete community service during the 2024-2025 academic year, after which his results for the ninth and tenth semesters will be released.
The court believed the loss of one academic year was proportionate to his misconduct. The student will also not be able to pursue any academic activities during that year, making him fall behind his peers in the 2019-24 class.
Pooja Thorat and senior advocate Navroz Seervai, representing the survivor, strongly opposed the student’s claims. They pointed out that this was not his first offence and that his behaviour had not improved despite earlier disciplinary action. The current complaint reflected a pattern of ongoing misconduct.