Sexual harassment case: AMU prof's bail cancelled

LUCKNOW: The additional district judge Aligarh on Friday cancelled the interim bail of AMU professor Mohammad Shabbir after he failed to appear in the court. Mohammad Shabbir has been accused of sexual harassment of a law student of Aligarh Muslim University.

Investigating officer Haider Raza Zaidi said since Shabbir failed to appear before the judge, his interim bail was cancelled. A non-bailable warrant will be issued against him soon, he said, adding: "A notice is also being sent to the surety who failed to produce him before the court."

Shabbir had surrendered before ACJM court on January 7 after being on the run for many weeks. He was, however, granted interim bail by the ADJ after ACJM rejected his bail plea. He had to appear in the court on January 13 but the hearing was postponed to January 17.

AMU had suspended Shabbir, who was law department chairman, on December 5 after a law student, Saira (name changed), lodged an FIR accusing him of sexual harassment. The charges were prima facie found true by the university's women grievance committee.

Eight years ago, Prof Shabbir was suspended on charges of sexually harassing a visiting US student. But he was later exonerated in an internal investigation.

Shabbir had filed a surrender application in chief judicial magistrate court. His plea was dismissed after he failed to surrender within a stipulated time. He then filed a petition in the Allahabad high court on December 11 seeking stay on his arrest and quashing of the FIR. The court had refused to interfere and left it on the investigating officer to take action.