ADIL KHAN Vs. VICE CHANCELLOR, ALIGARH MUSLIM UNIVERSITY

JUDGEMENT

(1.) A student of B.A.LL.B. in the Aligarh Muslim University (hereinafter referred to as, 'University') has approached this Court pleading that he has not been treated fairly by the University while passing an order expelling him from the rolls of the University for a duration of five academic sessions on the charge that he had indulged in acts of indiscipline and misconduct as defined in AMU Students' Conduct and Discipline Rules, 1985 (hereinafter referred to as, "Rules, 1985'). The petitioner pleads violation of the principles of natural justice in the disciplinary proceedings.

(2.) The facts of the case are that there were differences between two groups of students on the issue of inviting a political leader in the University Campus, as a result of which violent activities disrupting the academic atmosphere in the University took place on the Campus on 12/2/2019. The petitioner is alleged to have participated in the violence. By order dtd. 13/2/2019, the Proctor of the University suspended the petitioner and three other students including one Farhan Zubairi. The order dtd. 13/2/2019 notes that one Manish Kumar had filed a complaint to the Proctor stating that two students of the University had abused and physically assaulted him and blamed the petitioner and Farhan Zubairi for the chaos in the campus. The order dtd. 13/2/2019 also prohibited the petitioner from entering the University Campus. On 14/2/2019, two First Information Reports were registered in relation to incident dtd. 12/2/2019. F.I.R. No. 61 of 2019 was registered at the instance of one Azim Akhtar, an employee of the University, under Ss. 147, 323 and 504 of the Indian Penal Code alleging that the accused named in the F.I.R. along with some unknown persons and political leaders had created disturbances at the administrative building of the University. The other First Information Report numbered as F.I.R. No. 62 of 2019 was registered at the instance of one Dr. Nishit Sharma under Ss. 147, 148, 149, 307 and 427 of Indian Penal Code alleging that on 12/2/2019, the accused named in the F.I.R. along with certain unknown persons had physically assaulted the informant and students of the University and had also fired at the vehicle of the informant and had set on fire other vehicles. The petitioner was not named as an accused in either of the F.I.R. A charge-sheet dtd. 13/7/2019 has been filed in F.I.R. No. 62 of 2019. The petitioner has not been shown as an accused in the charge-sheet though Farhan Zubairi has been noted as an accused in the aforesaid charge-sheet.

(3.) On 28/2/2019, one Mazhar Siddiqui, an employee of the University, lodged a First Information Report numbered as F.I.R. No. 0089 of 2019 against the petitioner and one Nabil under Ss. 307 and 504 of Indian Penal Code alleging that on 28/2/2019, the petitioner along with the co-accused came in the office of the informant and the co-accused fired at the informant by a country-made pistol. It has been alleged in the F.I.R. that the petitioner abused the informant and also instigated the co-accused Nabil to fire at the informant. It has been further stated in the F.I.R. that Nabil Ahmed was apprehended by the informant but the petitioner managed to escape from the spot with the fire-arm.