JABALPUR, India, June 17 -- Madhya Pradesh High Court issued the following judgment/order on May 15:

[1] Invoking Article 226 of the Constitution of India, the petitioner has filed this petition challenging the order dated 31.12.2025, whereby the petitioner has been terminated from service on account of certain misconduct found proved in the departmental inquiry.

2. The learned counsel for the respondents has raised a preliminary objection regarding the maintainability of this writ petition on the ground of availability of an alternate and efficacious remedy of filing an appeal before the Governor within 30 days.

3. The arguments of learned counsel for the parties are, therefore, heard on the issue of alternate remedy.

4. The facts necessary for the decision of the issue are that the petitioner was appointed as an Assistant Professor in the respondent University on 26.07.2012. On 26.03.2025, a complaint was made by some of the students alleging sexual harassment on the part of the petitioner. The University constituted a Students' Grievance Redressal Committee (SGRC) under the provisions of the University Grants Commission (Redressal of Grievances of Students) Regulations, 2023. This committee consisted of five members and was headed by Dr. Niti Pandey, Coordinator (Sanyojak) and Principal of Madhav College, Gwalior.

5. The matter was also reported to Police Station, Jhansi Road, Gwalior. Accordingly, an FIR was registered against the petitioner for offences punishable under Sections 74, 75, 79 & 351(2) of BNS. The SGRC conducted an inquiry and recorded statements of the complainants. However, the petitioner did not participate in the inquiry. The reason thereof need not be discussed here. The SGRC submitted its report on 28.04.2025. The committee opined that though the complainants had given their statements, they had not produced any evidence or documents in support thereof. The committee also noted that the petitioner did not appear before it despite several reminders. Ultimately, the committee opined that since the matter is under investigation by the Police, no further action is required to be taken in the matter by the SGRC.

*Rest of the document can be viewed at: (https://mphc.gov.in/storage/upload/gwalior/MPHCGWL/2026/WP/1662/WP_1662_2026_FinalOrder_15-05-2026.pdf)

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