Sexual harassment case against Ex-Vice Chancellor of Panjab University, Mr. Arun Kumar Grover gets closed by the Chancellor on the recommendations of an Independent Internal Committee (IIC). Grover said, “why does my wife and family have to suffer”.
Grover has served PU as VC during July 2012-18 and retired in July 2018. Apr 2015, a woman professor accused PU then VC Arun Kumar Grover of Sexual harassment. Then in May, NCW writes to the UT IGP to submit a report, on March 2018 PU constituted an independent internal committee (ICC) under Haryana IAS officer Navraj Sandhu and then Dheera Khandelwal was nominated as new chief of IIC in Jan 2020 to probe the case.
In the matter, all members of the an independent internal committee (IIC) unanimously recommended to close the inquiry proceedings.
“It appears that the complainant did not want to stand to her complaints/allegations, as despite due notices and receipts by her, she has failed to appear before the committee and as the procedure requires there is no jurisdiction to further proceed with the present enquiry into the complaints made by the woman, professor in the Panjab University (sic),” HT published from the report.
Grover said to The Indian Express, that people often used to ask about the case which made him go through mental stress.
“Whenever I would go to Delhi or for some conferences and we would meet educationists over lunch, they would ask me….aapke us harassment case ka kya hua…this is something that has not just defamed me but made me go through mental stress and agony. It has even defamed the office of Vice-Chancellor,”
He also said that, “Just for this dirty politics of senate, why does my wife and family have to suffer, which they did because of all this. I had to face so much of embarrassment because of something that was completely false.”
After receiving communication about Chancellor’s acceptance of committee report held on June 16, 2020, Grover has requested disciplinary action against the woman professor for not cooperating with the inquiry, in a letter to vice-chancellor Raj Kumar.
“Dear colleagues from universities of India, I served as a V-C of PU for two-three years term from 2012-18. While we are discussing NPE and transformations and reforms in governance of universities of India, I wish to bring to your attention the need to protect the offices of V-Cs in India. False and malicious charges were put against me to force me to quit the job before commencement of my second term,” The Indian Express published.