Contempt petition against Johri, JNU

NEW DELHI: The Delhi High Court on Monday sought responses from Jawaharlal Nehru University (JNU) and ots professor Atul Johri after women students approached it with a contempt petition alleging that the University had allowed Johri to enter a laboratory.

Justice J R Midha issued notices to the university, its vicechancellor, professor Johri and Delhi Police on the early hearing application and listed the matter for consideration on July 2.

The early hearing application was filed after the court on May 2, the last date of hearing, posted the contempt plea as well as the main matter of sexual harassment for October 31.

The students had filed the contempt plea alleging “wilful disobedience” of the earlier orders of the court. The main petition challenges the findings of the Internal Complaints Committee (ICC), which had given a clean chit to Johri of all the sexual harassment allegations levelled against him.

Appearing for the students, advocate Vrinda Grover, submitted that there was urgency on hearing because the petitioners are scholars who will not be able to complete their PHD if not given access to the laboratory.

“The contempt is frivolous because the access to the laboratory to Johri was provided by JNU, which found that no sexual harassment was done by him. Secondly, these girls are not there in the lab, four of them have graduated and four have been assigned different labs and supervisors. Johri has developed this lab so why should he not have access to the lab,” Johri’s advocate Amit Anand Tiwari said.