JNU professor Johri gets bail in sexual misconduct case; students protest

The JNU professor was arrested in the sexual harassment case and given bail yesterday; he said students were targetting him for low-attendance complaints

The Jawaharlal Nehru University students were protesting on Wednesday, demanding the suspension of Professor Atul Johri for sexual harassment allegations levelled against him. The protests come after Atul Johri was on Tuesday arrested and then granted bail by Delhi’s Patiala House court within 80 minutes of his arrest.

“We want JNU to suspend him & declare that he cannot enter university premises,” said students.

Duty magistrate Ritu Singh had granted bail to Johri, a professor in the Department of Life Sciences, and directed him to furnish a bail bond of Rs 30,000 for each of the eight first information reports (FIRs) registered against him in Delhi’s Vasant Kunj North Police Station.

Johri’s advocate R K Wadhwa had moved a bail plea in a Delhi court on Tuesday and said that sending him to jail would ruin his career. Johri had moved the bail application after the Delhi Police did not seek his custodial interrogation.

On March 16, after eight JNU students filed sexual harassment complaints against Johri, the police registered a case against the professor on charges of outraging the modesty of women. The women's rights organisations, including the All India Democratic Women's Association (AIDWA) and the All India Mahila Sanskritik Sanghatan, demonstrated outside the police station on Tuesday, demanding Johri's arrest.

On Monday, 54 JNU professors had demanded registration of separate FIRs on all eight sexual harassment complaints against Johri. They had also petitioned Deputy Commissioner of Police (south-west) Milind Dumbere's office in this regard.

Why was Johri granted bail?

The bail plea noted that while allegations of sexual misconduct pertained to 2013-14, the FIR was registered in 2018. “There is an unexplainable inordinate delay of four years in the registration of the FIR," read the bail plea.

Johri’s lawyer had also pointed out that none of the students had made a single complaint with the Internal Complaints Committee of the JNU with regard to the alleged harassment.

Although Johri has been granted bail, several students are set to hold protests against the court’s decision on Wednesday, according to media reports. Also, Johri is said to hold press briefing.

Here are the top developments in the JNU professor sexual harassment case:

1. Johri’s bail plea: Denying the sexual harassment allegations, the professor had said, "Some girls who have levelled the allegations against me had received a mail from me on February 27 regarding their irregular attendance in the lab. So, they are targeting me."

His bail plea said: "In order to ensure that the applicant (Johri) is unable to take any action against them owing to their attendance issues, the complainant (student) in connivance with certain other female students, while levelling upon various frivolous allegations, got the present false FIR registered against the applicant."

Johri had also said that before receiving the aforementioned email, one of the complainants had cordial relations with him and his wife, and had even celebrated birthdays and festivals with them.

2. Implications of the FIR: The eight FIRs against Johri mean that he will be tried separately in each case. Thus, even if Johri manages to get an acquittal in one case, he can be convicted in another, according to police officials and lawyers.

The first charge is non-bailable in nature and is punishable by imprisonment with the probability of the term being extended by up to two years.

3. The court’s take on the JNU harassment case: The Patiala House court, while taking into account that Johri had already been recorded by a judicial magistrate, said that according to the Indian judicial law, “bail, not jail is the rule, except where the circumstances are suggestive of fleeing of accused from justice or thwarting the cause of justice or repetition of offences.”

Therefore, duty magistrate Ritu Singh had granted bail to Johri and had directed him to furnish a bail bond of Rs 30,000 for each of the eight FIRs registered against him.

"For foregoing reasons, I'm of the opinion that no purpose would be served by keeping the accused in custody, accordingly accused admitted to bail on his furnishing bail bond in the sum of Rs 30,000 with one surety of like amount," the court, which granted him bail in as many eight similar cases, Ritu Singh had said.

The court had also imposed various conditions on Johri, including that he would have to appear as and when his presence is sought in a court of law.

"He shall not directly or indirectly make any inducement, threat... the complainant/any person acquainted with the facts of the case...," it had said, adding that, the professor shall not tamper with the evidence and assist the police in the case.

4. The police’s take on the sexual harassment: The Delhi Police had said that each complainant had a different narrative, with the time and place of each alleged offence having been occurred separately. Therefore, eight different FIRs had been leveled against him.

Dependra Pathak, a special commissioner and spokesperson of Delhi Police, said: “We had to take legal opinion on the matter. There was some confusion because the initial set of complainants had approached the police together. Later, it emerged that there was a considerable gap in terms of time of occurrence of the criminal incidents,” according to Scroll.in.

The detailed investigation into the matter is being held by Additional Deputy Commissioner of Police Monika Bhardwaj. The Police is yet to certify whether the complaints against Johri are part of campus politics for the low-attendance row as alleged by Johri, or whether they are true.

5. ‘I’m a victim of politics’, says Johri: Having said that he has been working in JNU since 2004, Johri said, “I'm a victim of politics.” He further stated that sending him to jail would ruin his career.

Denying the allegations, the professor had said, "Some girls, who have levelled the allegations against me, had received a mail from me on February 27 regarding their irregular attendance in the lab. So, they are targeting me."

The mail, which had been marked to some of the students who had levelled the allegations against the professor, read, "Dear all, you are not coming to the lab on time. In many cases, even if you come, you are not in the lab the whole day."

Referring to the 26-year-old student, the mail read, "Most of the time, you are absent. Please find another lab, it is very difficult to finish PhD on time. You have already used 30 days of leave."

"It is because of these mails that I have been targeted by the students," the professor had said, adding that no complaint was filed against him either with the discarded GSCASH or the Internal Complaints Committee.

6. Is Johri really a ‘scapegoat’: Laywer R K Wadhva had said yesterday, "This was a political conspiracy and he (Johri) was made a scapegoat. The children used to work with the professor."

Wadhva had further claimed that the students had conspired against Johri, "He had reprimanded them for their attendance and asked them to attend classes. The students conspired to complain against him."

"Allegations of molestation against my client are baseless and totally wrong," Atul Johri's counsel had said.

7. JNU students demand Johri's suspension: JNU students on Wednesday staged protests for suspension of professor Atul Johri on allegations of sexual harassment levelled against him. Students say, "We want JNU to suspend him & declare that he cannot enter University premises."

JNU students had earlier accused the men in uniform of "inaction" in the matter. "Four days after eight women students came forward with sexual harassment complaints against the professor, no action has been taken against him and just one FIR has been lodged," Jawaharlal Nehru University Students' Union (JNUSU) vice-president Simone Zoya Khan had said.

8. JNU dean files FIR against students alleging assault

JNU Dean of Students (DoS) Umesh Ashok Kadam on Tuesday filed an FIR against 17 students in connection with March 12 incident where students barged into the latters' office, allegedly manhandled and abused him.

An FIR has been lodged against JNUSU president Geeta Kumari, its vice president Simone Zoya Khan and others for creating ruckus inside the office of Dean of Student.

9. Professors had demand separate FIRs against Atul Johri

54 JNU professors on Monday demanded registration of separate FIRs in all eight complaints of sexual harassment filed against professor Atul Johri.

They petitioned deputy commissioner of police (South-West) Milind Dumbere's office two days after the Delhi Police registered an FIR against professor Johri following allegations of sexual harassment by a group of women students.

The teachers said eight complaints were filed by as many women students. However, the Delhi Police chose to register only one FIR based on only one of the complaints.
 

"Even though you have received 8 complaints, each of which reports incidents that are distinct and separated by space and time, you have chosen to register only one FIR under only one of the names. We are shocked to learn this as the law requires that a separate FIR is registered for each complaint," the petition said.

Later, the police filed eight separate FIRs. 

10. Students complain that Atul Johri had made open demands for sex

At a press meet held on the campus, the women students of the SLS had issued a statement that said, "The professor often makes sexually-coloured remarks, open demands for sex and comments on the figure of almost every girl. If a girl objects, he holds a grudge against her."

Another statement issued by the students said, "There is a financial nexus between the professor and the administration. No instrument has been purchased for years, but still crores of rupees have been spent."

On Wednesday night, a 26-year-old student, who went missing and was later traced to her relative's house, had sent an e-mail to the professor, saying, "I am leaving your so-called prestigious lab, just because you are a characterless person and have no manners when it comes to talking to girls."

The screenshot of her complaint, which was marked to several other students, had gone around on social media and raised serious allegations against Professor Johri.


Arrest Johri trends on Twitter

#ArrestJohri arrests at Vasant Kunj Police Stration right now. pic.twitter.com/rd6aAX06tA

— Shehla Rashid (@Shehla_Rashid) March 19, 2018