Kanhaiya Kumar was fined by JNU for alleged ‘misbehaviour’ with girl

The June 10, 2015 incident, according to the woman who teaches in the University of Delhi, started when she urged Mr Kumar, not the students’ union president at the time, not to urinate in the open inside the campus. The woman alleged that Mr Kumar “misbehaved” with her when she raised her objection and called her a “psychopath” while threatening her with dire consequences. Following a complaint, the JNU administration held a proctorial inquiry that found Mr Kumar guilty.

“The university... has found Kanhaiya Kumar guilty of misbehaving with an ex-student (female) and threatening her. This act is serious in nature and unbecoming of a student of JNU and calls for a strict disciplinary action against him (Kanhaiya)... Keeping his career prospects in mind, the vice-chancellor has taken a lenient view in the matter,” the order issued on October 16, 2015 by the then chief proctor Krishna Kumar said. “Kanhaiya is fined Rs 3,000 and also warned to be careful and not get involved in any such incidents in future. Otherwise, strict disciplinary action will be taken against him,” the order added.

An unsigned order was shared on social media by the woman, who accused Mr Kumar of being a “false revolutionary making claims about upholding the dignity of women.” The university administration confirmed in a statement that the letter was authentic and action was taken against the student leader.

“I am dejected and pained to see how my JNU community has ganged up to create false revolutionary. I want to ask, do you really understand the D for Dignity of a female, Mr Kanhaiya ” the woman said in an open letter circulating online.

“Unzipping your private part in public and urinating on road — are these your revolutionary tools to uphold a female’s dignity I am shocked to see how a misogynist like Kanhaiya is being hailed as revolutionary,” she added. Mr Kumar is facing sedition charges in connection with an event on campus against the hanging of Parliament attack convict Afzal Guru during which anti-national slogans were allegedly raised.

He was granted interim bail for six months by the Delhi high court last week after spending 18 days in jail. Meanwhile, the All-India Students Federation (AISF), the group of which Mr Kumar is a member, said in a statement that “talk about public urination and threats are being spread to malign Kanhaiya’s image. He had a verbal argument with the girl following which she had registered a complaint.”

“We do respect the girl’s right to criticise Kanhaiya, but we want to reiterate that he has always stood for gender justice. Also, when the incident took place, he was not the president of the students’ union,” it added.