Sexual harassment FIR against DU assistant prof quashed by Delhi HC

New Delhi: The Delhi High Court has now quashed a sexual harassment FIR against an assistant professor of Delhi University expressing anguish over the charges being invoked "at the drop of a hat" to "register one's displeasure" against another and noting that such behaviour sets back the cause of women empowerment.

Justice Subramonium Prasad of the Delhi High Court, in his order, said, "This merely trivialises the offence of sexual harassment and casts a doubt on the veracity of the allegations filed by every other victim who has, in reality, faced sexual harassment."

The FIR was registered by the Delhi Police under Sections 354A and 506 of the Indian Penal Code in February last year against the DU assistant professor based on a complaint from his neighbour. But the accused told the court that the complaint was made in an alleged attempt to arm-twist him into taking back a complaint his wife had filed against the neighbour's son.

The petition filed in court showed that the complainant and the accused in the instant case were neighbours and had several long-pending disputes over residential property. The Delhi Police had opposed the plea to quash the sexual harassment FIR saying that the accused assistant professor and his wife were "habitual complainants" citing several complaints filed by them against construction work in their neighbourhood.

The accused was also dismissed from his society's Residents' Welfare Association for allegedly abusing his position and had thus filed several complaints against their neighbours purportedly angry over the removal, the police argued.

However, in its order, the Delhi High Court noted that the contents of the sexual harassment FIR were sketchy and do not have any specifics about the offences allegedly committed by the assistant professor.

"While this Court is cognizant of the fact that an FIR is not an encyclopedia which must disclose all facts and details, however, in the instant case, a bare reading of the impugned FIR…prima facie indicates that the FIR arises out of bald allegations and contradictory statements," the order said, adding that even the police' status report in the case just had details about the accused filing complaints.

The high court noted, "The Status Report states that the Petitioner and his wife were habitual complainants and have filed multiple complaints against the construction that would take place in the neighbourhood, and therefore, it is evident that the instant FIR was maliciously instituted with an ulterior motive for wreaking vengeance on the Petitioner, and with a view to spite him and his wife due to a private and personal grudge."