HC stays BFUHS internal panel proceedings against ex-registrar
A UNIVERSITY COMMITTEE WAS PROBING HARASSMENT ALLEGATION AGAINST ARVIND SHARMA LEVELLED BY A SENIOR OFFICIAL
FARIDKOT: The Punjab and Haryana high court has stayed the proceedings against the former registrar of Baba Farid University of Health Sciences (BFUHS), Arvind Sharma, before the Internal complaints committee.
BFUHS committee was probing harassment allegation against former registrar levelled by a senior official. The former registrar had filed a petition in the HC demanding stay on proceedings against him as a local complaints committee is already probing the matter. The committee is also probing a sexual harassment complaint of a senior tutor against a head of department.
The court of judge Tejinder Singh Dhindsa stated in the judgment that inter alia contends that connected complaint raising allegations against university officials already stands referred to the local complaints committee headed by Faridkot additional deputy commissioner. Counsel has averted to communication from the office of deputy commissioner to assert that even the complaint against petitioner stands entrusted to the local complaints committee, the court added.
“Precise contention raised is that under such circumstances continuation of parallel proceedings before the internal complaints committee constituted by the respondent university cannot sustain. The proceedings against the petitioner before the internal complaints committee shall be held in abeyance,” the court stated. Arvind Sharma was stripped from the charges of the registrar in September. The move had come after sexual harassment charges were levelled by a medical officer against the head of one of the departments at the university.
Sources said Prof Sharma wanted the sexual harassment case to be probed in a transparent manner and sought strict action against the accused if the allegations were found to be true. His stand had made the varsity management uneasy, sources said.
However, the victim senior tutor , students and social organisations continued their dharna on the third day.