Allahabad HC grants bail to AMU professor over Hindu mythology ‘rape’ remark
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Uttar Pradesh: The Allahabad High Court has granted anticipatory bail to Aligarh Muslim University (AMU) Professor Dr. Jitendra Kumar, who is facing an FIR for allegedly citing instances of “rape” in Hindu mythology during a Forensic Medicine lecture in 2022. The court observed that it could not be said prima facie that the teacher had intentionally attempted to disturb public peace or hurt religious sentiments.
Justice Gautam Chowdhary noted that when a teacher, while teaching within the parameters of the subject, refers to historical material published by the government, such references cannot be prima facie considered as deliberate attempts to provoke unrest or offend religious beliefs. The court took into account Dr. Kumar’s role, the circumstances of the case, and a prior fact-finding inquiry conducted by the university before granting relief.
In August last year, Dr. Kumar was granted interim anticipatory bail after a committee comprising three professors and one assistant registrar concluded that he had made a genuine mistake and had not deliberately invoked religious connotations. The professor, suspended in April 2022 and reinstated in 2023, is accused of hurting religious sentiments by citing examples from Hindu mythology to illustrate that rape existed historically.
An FIR was filed against him under Sections 153A, 295A, 298, and 505(2) of the Indian Penal Code following a complaint by Nishit Sharma, an AMU alumnus and BJP worker. Dr. Kumar has consistently maintained that he had no intention of offending religious sentiments and that the topic of “rape” is part of the university syllabus as well as the National Medical Commission curriculum for undergraduate medical students.
He stated that his lecture relied on historical sources, including 'Baba Saheb Dr. Ambedkar Sampurna Vangmay Part-8' and the 'Brahma Vaivarta Puran', to substantiate that his references were academically sourced. The university’s internal inquiry also concluded that the references to Hindu mythology were bona fide mistakes, not deliberate acts.