Allahabad High Court Grants Anticipatory Bail to AMU Professor in Case on Mythological References

Aligarh Muslim University (AMU) Professor Dr Jitendra Kumar has received anticipatory bail by the Allahabad high court after being charged following an alleged mention of cases of rape in the Hindu mythology during a lecture on Forensic Medicine in 2022. The Court held that it would not be possible to say prima facie that the professor had deliberately intended to disrupt the peace of the world or religious feelings (Dr Jitendra Kumar v. State of Uttar Pradesh, 2024).

Justice Gautam Chowdhary in granting the bail plea observed, that when the teacher is imparting knowledge in his field and cites material posted by the government, it cannot necessarily be considered that the action was meant to offend religious sentiments. It was also considered the role of the professor, the factual situation and the findings made by a previous fact-finding hearing undertaken by the University.

In August 2023, Dr Kumar was granted interim anticipatory bail after the college set up a committee headed by three professors and an assistant registrar that concluded that Dr Kumar had made his comments inadvertently and not out of intent. His suspension took place in April 2022, though he was reinstated the next year.

The case is based on an FIR filed against him under Section 153A,295A, 298, and 505(2) of the Indian Penal Code; an FIR was previously filed by AMU alumnus, and BJP Worker Nishit Sharma. The allegation was that Dr Kumar has offended religious sentiments by having used Hindu mythological texts as part of describing how rape was common historically.

However, the professor has continuously argued that he did not mean to offend anybody. He stated that the issue of rape is included in not only the university curriculum but also in the curriculum of National Medical Commission to study the undergraduate students in medical studies. He has used historiographical literature and historical facts such as Baba Saheb Dr Ambedkar Sampurna Vangmay Part-8 and Brahma Vaivarta Purana to justify his lecture.

The internal university inquiry yielded a finding that the references were in good faith and were not maliciously intended. Considering these aspects the High Court had decided that custodial interrogation was not required and granted the anticipatory bail in favour of Dr Kumar.