Stephen’s gets HRD notice, women panel seeks report

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DU spokesperson Malay Neerav confirmed a note from St Stephen’s was “received Tuesday evening and the university will respond to MHRD’s letter soon”.

Satish Kumar, an assistant professor inSt Stephen’s Chemistry department, was on Tuesday denied anticipatory bail by a Delhi Court in the sexual harassment case.

The complainant, who is doing her PhD under Kumar, had approached police last week, alleging that she was molested by Kumar in October 2013.

The student also claimed that Thampu tried to protect Kumar when the matter was reported to the college authorities. Thampu has denied the allegation.

Thampu said while the matter was reported to the college’s internal complaints committee, the statutory body to deal with such complaints, the scholar had also forwarded a complaint to the university’s chemistry department.

“It wasn’t clear from the HRD directive whether a status report has been sought from both the committees or St Stephen’s alone,” he said.

Officials in the HRD ministry said any action in the case will be taken after evaluating the reply.

“Any action against St Stephen’s principal or any further development will be based on the outcome of the reply received from the university,” an official said.

The Delhi Commission for Women has also sought an action-taken report from the college, expressing its “deep shock” over the incident.