Jawaharlal Nehru University (JNU) has dismissed its faculty member and Congress Lok Sabha MP from Inner Manipur, Dr Angomcha Bimol Akoijam, after an Internal Complaints Committee (ICC) found him guilty of sexually harassing female students.
Following his termination, the Delhi Police registered a First Information Report (FIR) against the parliamentarian under the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS). While university authorities and protesting political groups have demanded severe accountability citing allegations of coercive misconduct and offers of academic favours, Akoijam has categorically denied the charges, calling the inquiry an unjust “witch hunt” reminiscent of a “khap panchayat” and pledging to resign from Parliament if proven guilty in a court of law.
The Allegations and Conflicting Claims
The formal complaint against Dr Akoijam, an Associate Professor at JNU’s Centre for the Study of Social Systems, stems from allegations raised by 11 female students involving inappropriate physical advances, sexually suggestive remarks during viva examinations, and offers of higher marks in exchange for sexual favours.
Based on a formal complaint submitted by the university’s Chief Security Officer, the Delhi Police registered an FIR at Vasant Kunj North Police Station invoking Sections 75 (sexual harassment) and 79 (word, gesture, or act intended to insult the modesty of a woman) of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita. Demanding his immediate suspension from the Congress party, opposition leaders staged demonstrations outside party offices. In response, Dr Akoijam defended his integrity, stating, “If I am proven guilty in a fair and proper judicial process, I will not hesitate for a second to quit Parliament” while maintaining that the internal proceedings suffered from serious procedural lapses and breaches of natural justice.
Institutional Scrutiny
The controversy unfolds against a backdrop of prolonged friction between institutional governance and faculty politics within premier higher education institutions.
Dr Akoijam entered active parliamentary politics upon winning the Inner Manipur seat, frequently vocalising concerns regarding ongoing ethnic unrest in his home state. Allegations against him reportedly surfaced earlier in the academic year, culminating in the ICC’s recommendation of a “major penalty” resulting in termination of service. However, the dispute has quickly evolved beyond campus boundaries into a polarising national political exchange, with critics framing the development as a failure of institutional culture, and the lawmaker’s supporters alleging politically motivated targeting to stifle critical parliamentary voices.
The Logical Indian’s Perspective
Academic institutions must remain inviolable sanctuaries where every student, irrespective of gender or background, can pursue education free from intimidation, coercion, or predatory exploitation.
When allegations of sexual harassment emerge within the teacher-student dynamic, where power asymmetries run steep, the emotional safety and dignity of complainants must be safeguarded with profound empathy, sensitivity, and swift institutional transparency. Concurrently, our commitment to justice requires an unimpeachable legal process devoid of political theatrics, trial by media, or procedural opacity.
Real social harmony and gender equality can only thrive when institutional grievance bodies command complete ethical credibility, ensuring survivors find genuine safety while the accused are afforded due process under the rule of law. How can our educational institutions cultivate grievance mechanisms that are both fiercely protective of student safety and entirely insulated from political weaponisation?
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