‘The last one-and-a-half years were no less than a nightmare’

Bhopal/Indore, Madhya Pradesh: Everything fell apart so quickly before Dr Inamur Rahman (64) could fully grasp the gravity of the situation. He had tendered his resignation as the principal of Government New Law College, Indore, a few hours ago, and was now admitted to a hospital, disturbed by the protests alleging him of keeping a "Hinduphobic and anti-national book" in the college library.

Within those few hours, a First Information Report (FIR) was registered against him at the Bhawar Kuan Police Station, based on a complaint from Lucky Adiwal, a second semester LLM student of the college. Dr Farhat Khan, the author of the ‘contentious’ book Collective Violence and Criminal Justice System, its publisher Amar Law Publications and college’s assistant professor Dr Mirza Mojiz Baig were also booked.

“A NAAC [National Assessment and Accreditation Council] team was to inspect our college the next month, so I was busy with its preparations on December 1, 2022. Around 10.30 am, I was in my cabin when sloganeering began against teachers, professors and students of a particular religion. After a lot of effort, I could bring them into my cabin for discussions. I assured them that if they would give a written complaint, action would be taken against those guilty, after conducting a proper investigation. They agreed and left,” Rahman told 101Reporters.

The protesters belonging to the student-run political organisation claimed that religious fanaticism of a particular group was increasing in the college. Their complaint to the principal alleged a college guest faculty of luring Hindu girl students to cafes and pubs, assistant  professor of religious fanaticism, and another three of brainwashing against the government and the Indian Army, speaking ill of Hindu kings and propagating a particular religion. It said students belonging to other religions were failed deliberately or were given low marks.

“Despite knowing well that the allegations were baseless, an investigation was recommended under a retired district court judge. The committee was requested to submit its report within five days. The accused professors were told to stay away from the college on those five days,” Rahman said. However, despite the ongoing investigation, students suddenly launched a protest again, on December 3. 

Rahman joined the college as principal in 2019. “Until the day of complaint, I did not know this particular book was present in the college library. It was neither purchased during my tenure nor did the library ever issue it to any student. Farhat Khan is my former student, and this was the reason why I was tortured. Most of the accused teachers have left Indore city now,” he said.

Selective targeting

The FIR registered against Rahman and others included several sections of the Indian Penal Code, which together had provision for imprisonment up to 16 years, if found guilty. Section 153-A (promoting enmity between different groups), 153-B (claims prejudicial to national integration), 295-A (intentionally intending to hurt religious sentiments), 500 (defamation), 505 (provocative statements), 505(2) (causing or promoting enmity, hatred or ill will between classes) and Section 34 (acts done by several persons in furtherance of common intention) were charged against them. 

Soon after the registration of FIR, Madhya Pradesh Higher Education Department took cognisance and launched a seven-member investigation team. Not only did the panel launch a superfast investigation, it even submitted its report on the same day (December 3). In fact, one of the panel members publicly stated that it had recorded statements of 250 students and teachers. Taking note of the report, the then higher education minister and present Chief Minister Mohan Yadav ordered suspension of Rahman and Baig. 

Rahman and others then applied for interim bail at the district court and sought dismissal of the case. During the December 6 hearing, Additional Government Pleader Sanjay Sharma, on behalf of the state government, and lawyers Govind Singh Rajput and Ravi Jain, on behalf of Adiwal, objected to their bail.

The petitioner’s counsel presented a joint affidavit of Adiwal and four other students, which said that granting bail to applicants could give rise to communal hatred. They claimed that the college faculty concerned, while commenting on the Indian Army, had referred to the book in question during their lectures and had threatened to ruin lives if anyone protested. Considering all these, Additional Sessions Judge Rakesh Goyal rejected the bail plea. 

Two days later, on December 8, Bhawar Kuan Police reached Pune to arrest the book author, but they returned after serving a notice under the Code of Criminal Procedure as she was undergoing dialysis. “I am suffering from a serious kidney disease, yet Indore Police tried to arrest me under pressure from the administration when I was admitted to a private hospital in Pune. The government, administration and police should have shown some sensitivity,” Khan said.

Khan added that she co-authored the book with Dr Sheetal Kanwal, based on newspaper and media reports. “No one knows what action was taken against Kanwal. You can guess that action against me was on the basis of my religion,” she remarked.

“We published the book in 2014, but RSS and workers of a student-run political organisation raised strong objections against some of its portions in 2021. We discussed the issue with the authors, and recalled all the sold copies and destroyed them. Later, after removing objectionable material of about 10 pages, new editions were printed. In March 2021 itself, Dr Khan tendered a written apology. Despite this, action was taken under political pressure,” Hitesh Khetrapal of Amar Law Publications told 101Reporters.

Though Rahman approached the Indore High Court, he did not receive interim bail. Subsequently, he moved the Supreme Court (SC), which stayed his arrest on December 15, saying, "This is not a case of arrest."

Last year, on May 17, the SC cancelled the criminal proceedings against Rahman and others, terming the FIR allegations “absurd”. The Bench of Justices B R Gavai and Sandeep Mehta said Khan's book could be found even in the SC library. 

“The Supreme Court has given us justice, but the fight is still going on as the former principal and I are guilty as per the Higher Education Department’s investigation,” said Baig. “I studied in the same college and was very attached to the students there,” he added, while hoping that the department will close the case and reinstate him as soon as possible. 

Rahman also expressed disappointment at the department’s inaction. “I applied for reinstatement in my job along with a copy of the order, but my hopes were dashed by the delay as I was to retire on May 31.”

“If the department wanted, they could have heard my application and closed my case to allow me an honourable retirement. Unfortunately, that did not happen. Now I am just hoping that the government accepts my application and the SC decision and closes the ongoing case against me as soon as possible, so that I can get my stalled salary, provident fund and pension,” he added.

Not a one-off incident

Bhopal-based lawyer Deepak Bundela said that by cancelling FIR in the Indore case, the Supreme Court has proved that such actions not only violate academic freedom but also freedom of expression. Bundela himself has been a victim of violence on religious grounds during the COVID-19 period.

“Article 19(1)(a) of the Constitution guarantees freedom of speech and expression. Critics and writers play an important role in highlighting social issues, so their work should be protected and they should not be harassed. In this case, the academics were additionally harassed because of their religious identity,” he added.

Bundela said the Indore case was not a one-off incident, and that such incidents were not limited to Madhya Pradesh. “The incidents where right wing organisations worked to ensure suspension of professors or perpetrated action against them have been reported from many parts of the country.”

Lawyer Saeeda Rehman, who challenges the fabricated cases registered against tribals and Dalits in the courts of Madhya Pradesh, said academics in Karnataka, Kolkata, Bhubaneswar, Lucknow, Gujarat and Delhi have fallen prey to caste and religion-specific cases. 

Advocate Abhinav P Dhanodkar, representing Rahman and Baig, said the case against them was registered for political and religion-based reasons. “Neither of them were involved in the publication or marketing of the book, yet my clients were unnecessarily dragged into this case.”

He further said that Rahman has moulded thousands of students into judges and lawyers throughout his career. “My client was competent in this case. Imagine what would be the condition of a common man if he gets harassed by such an action,” Dhanodkar asked.

Rahman wanted to give his best shot at developing the Government New Law College on the lines of National Law University, but he failed to realise that dream because of a conspiracy. “I have never indulged in any sort of communal idea. Yet the last one-and-a-half years were no less than a nightmare,” he said, with a choked voice. 

(Sanavver Shafi is a freelance journalist and a member of 101Reporters, a pan-India network of grassroots reporters.) 

This story has been produced by 101Reporters, an independent news agency with a network of 3,000+ freelance journalists across the country, in collaboration with Crime & Punishment, Vidhi Centre for Legal Policy.