Prayagraj, Sep 28 The Allahabad High Court has stayed further proceedings in a writ petition regarding caste discrimination allegations at Dr Rajendra Prasad National Law University, Prayagraj, questioning a single judge's order directing an inquiry by judicial officers.
A bench comprising Justices Siddhartha Varma and Kunal Ravi Singh said that prima facie the allegations should be examined by the University's internal Equal Opportunity Cell rather than judicial officers.
The matter relates to allegations made by two students, a PhD research scholar and a fifth-semester B.A. LL.B. (Hons.) student against Deepak Sharma, Head of the Department of Law and Warden of the Boys' Hostel. The students alleged that academic and administrative authority was used as an instrument of caste-based humiliation and retaliation.
In its order dated September 23, passed on a special appeal filed by Deepak Sharma, the division bench observed that when an Equal Opportunity Cell was available in the University and petitioners had prayed for an inquiry through that cell after excluding the appellant, there was no occasion for an inquiry by judicial officers.
The bench observed, "Even if the allegations are of a serious nature, the power of the University to examine such allegations through an appropriately constituted Equal Opportunity Cell ought not to have been taken away as it is within the domain of the University to look into the welfare of the students and deal with situations as they arise".
The court directed that if the inquiry report of the judicial officers, which was directed by the single bench for submission on September 24, was prepared, it should be placed before the court in a sealed cover on September 29, when the appeal will be listed again.
On September 16, 2026, the single judge, after hearing the petition filed by the student, asked Archana Singh-I, Judge, Small Cause Court, Prayagraj, and Arun Kumar Yadav, Special Chief Judicial Magistrate, Prayagraj, to conduct an inquiry and submit a report.
The single judge had observed that allegations were serious and required examination by an impartial agency without expressing an opinion upon their correctness.
Challenging the single judge's order, Sharma filed the special appeal.
According to the appellant, there was no need for an inquiry by judicial officers when an Equal Opportunity Cell exists.
