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* IN THE HIGH COURT OF DELHI AT NEW DELHI % Reserved on: 30.08.2024 Pronounced on: 18.09.2024 + W.P.(C) 8198/2024 HIRA KHATOON .....Petitioner Through: Mr. Sulaiman Mohd Khan, Mr.

Hilaluddin, Mr. G.K. Singh and Mr. MMA Chowdhary, Advocates.

versus UNION OF INDIA AND ORS. .....Respondents Through: Ms. Monika Arora, CGSC with Mr. Subhrodeep Sahal, Advocate for UOI.

Mr. Anshuman Sharma and Mr. Azaz Ahmed, Advocates for R-2/UGC.

Mr. Aman Naqvi, Advocate for R-3.

CORAM:

HON'BLE MS. JUSTICE SWARANA KANTA SHARMA

JUDGMENT

SWARANA KANTA SHARMA, J.

1. The present writ petition under Article 226 of the Constitution of India, has been filed on behalf of the petitioner, praying as follows:

“a) set aside/ quash Item No. 1 of the minutes, issued vide D. No. 545/ FLS dated 17.08.2023, of the special meeting of the CASR of the Faculty of life Sciences, AMU held on

10.08.2023;

Signature Not Verified Digitally Signed W.P.(C) 8198/2024 Page 1 of 12 b) issue a writ, order or directions in the nature of Mandamus commending the Respondent No. 3 to hold a meeting of the concerned Board of Studies of AMU and appoint Ph. D. guide of the Petitioner therein in conformity with the Ordinance 2(ii) for Ph. D. under Chapter XXV (E) of the Ordinances (Academic) of AMU within a time frame as given by this Hon'ble Court.

c) issue a writ, order or direction in the nature of Mandamus commending the Respondent No. 2 to comply with the provisions of Section 14 of the University Grants Commission Act, 1956 against AMU for violation to regulations of the Commission;

d) issue a writ, order or direction in the nature of Mandamus commending the Respondent No. 3 to extend Ph. D. tenure of the Petitioner atleast by 10 months as a bonafide Researcher in the Dept. of Wildlife Sciences, AMU as a special case; and e) allow this Writ Petition with special costs in favour of the Petitioner throughout…”

2. The case set out by the petitioner is that she is a wildlife researcher with several publications to her name, and she had enrolled herself in the Ph.D. program at the Department of Wildlife Sciences, Aligarh Muslim University („AMU‟) on 13.12.2017. After completing significant portions of her research, she had submitted five chapters of her thesis to her supervisor, Prof. Afifullah Khan, in March 2023. However, between March and April 2023, the petitioner alleges that Prof. Khan had begun making inappropriate advances toward her. He would call her after sunset, make sexually suggestive remarks, and engage in inappropriate physical contact. In one instance, in February 2023, the petitioner alleges that Prof. Khan had physically restrained her in his office. Despite this, the petitioner had continued her academic work, and had submitted corrections and drafts of her thesis. On 15.04.2023, Prof. Khan had reviewed the first Signature Not Verified Digitally Signed W.P.(C) 8198/2024 Page 2 of 12 chapter of her thesis and provided feedback, which continued with subsequent chapters until mid-April. However, in the third week of April 2023, when the petitioner had declined Prof. Khan‟s demand for sexual favors, he had become hostile. He had declared her research, which he had previously deemed satisfactory, as unfit for a doctoral degree. This sudden change in his stance had occurred despite his acknowledgment of the petitioner‟s consistent research progress throughout her Ph.D. tenure. On 02.05.2023, the petitioner had reported Prof. Khan‟s behavior to the university authorities, both verbally and through email. Following this, on 03.05.2023, the Registrar had referred her complaint to AMU‟s Internal Complaint Committee („ICC‟). The ICC had summoned both the petitioner and Prof. Khan for hearings in mid-May 2023 and heard witnesses‟ testimonies to corroborate the petitioner‟s allegations. However, on 26.05.2023, the ICC had submitted its report exonerating Prof. Khan, a decision that the petitioner argues was made without proper application of mind and in violation of the Sexual Harassment of Wom