The Akhil Bharatiya Vidyarthi Parishad (ABVP)'s Jawaharlal Nehru University (JNU) unit on Monday, 8 September staged a campus protest and burnt effigies of the university's Internal Committee (IC) and a professor facing sexual harassment allegations, claiming the case was being stalled due to political interference. The professor in question is also reportedly a Congress Member of Parliament.

Nature of the Allegations

According to an ABVP press release, several female students have filed serious sexual harassment complaints against the JNU professor with the university's Internal Committee. The organisation alleged that despite the gravity of these complaints, no concrete action had been taken as of the date of the protest.

ABVP contended that the accused professor's political affiliation — his status as a Congress MP — was shielding him from disciplinary proceedings. The organisation further alleged that leftist representatives on the IC were delaying hearings under pressure from their political leadership.

What ABVP Leaders Said

ABVP JNU President Mayank Panchal said the absence of timely action on complaints filed by female students exposed what he called the 'true face' of the Left-dominated Internal Committee and leftist organisations on campus. He also claimed that several activists associated with leftist groups had faced sexual harassment allegations in the past yet continued to remain active within those organisations.

ABVP JNU Minister Praveen Kumar Piyush demanded the immediate resignation of leftist representatives elected to the Internal Committee, describing them as 'incapable.' He alleged that in a recent case involving a complaint against an All India Students Federation (AISF) cadre, the leftist IC members had not attended any of the hearings — a pattern he said reflected insensitivity towards women's issues.

The Broader Concern Raised

ABVP stated that if the investigation or hearing of such complaints was being influenced or delayed due to any individual, organisation, or political pressure, it constituted a matter of serious concern. The organisation maintained that leftist IC representatives, who publicly claim to champion women's rights, were in practice failing to protect the complainants in this case.

Notably, JNU has been a recurring site of ideological contestation between ABVP and left-aligned student groups, and allegations of politically motivated delays in institutional processes have been raised by multiple sides in the past. The university administration and the accused professor had not issued a public response to the allegations as of the time of reporting.

What Happens Next

The Internal Committee's proceedings are governed by the Sexual Harassment of Women at Workplace (Prevention, Prohibition and Redressal) Act, 2013, commonly known as the POSH Act, which mandates completion of inquiries within 90 days. Whether the committee's timeline has breached this statutory limit has not been independently confirmed. ABVP has indicated it will continue to press for swift action and accountability from the university administration.