Karnataka HC Cancels Reinstatement of Doctor Twice Found Guilty of Sexual Harassment, Orders Disciplinary Action Against Principal Secretary and Director
A Karnataka High Court Division Bench reinstated the suspension of a SIMS Associate Professor facing two proven sexual harassment complaints, faulting both the institution's Director and the Principal Secretary for shielding him from accountability.
The High Court of Karnataka, in a common judgment dated 4 August 2026, allowed the writ appeal filed by the Shimoga Institute of Medical Sciences (SIMS) and dismissed two writ petitions filed by Dr. Ashwin Hebbar K, an Associate Professor in the Department of General Surgery. A Division Bench of Justice D K Singh and Justice T M Nadaf cancelled the order dated 17 November 2025, by which Dr. Hebbar's suspension had been revoked and he was reinstated into service. The bench directed that Dr. Hebbar remain suspended — attached to Haveri Institute of Medical Sciences — until the disciplinary enquiry concludes and punishment is imposed. It further recommended disciplinary proceedings against the SIMS Director, Dr. Virupakshappa V, and directed the Department of Personnel and Training, Government of India, and the State Government to take appropriate action against Mr. Mohammed Mohsin, IAS, Principal Secretary/Additional Chief Secretary, Department of Medical Education. A copy of the judgment was ordered to be sent to the National Medical Commission for action against Dr. Hebbar's medical licence.
Two Complaints, Two FIRs, and an Institutional Record of Inaction
Dr. Ashwin Hebbar was first appointed as Senior Resident at SIMS on 18 May 2007 and was later regularly appointed retrospectively from 1 August 2007. The first complaint of sexual harassment against him was lodged on 12 August 2022 by Dr. A, who had completed her MBBS from SIMS between 2015 and 2021 and was then working as a Junior Resident under Dr. Hebbar's supervision. The alleged incident occurred on 15 July 2022. After the department took no action for 25 days, Dr. A filed an FIR at the Women's Police Station, recorded in Crime No. 70 of 2022, under Section 354A of the Indian Penal Code.
Dr. Hebbar was arrested and subsequently suspended vide Government Order No. MED 337 MPS 2022 dated 21 July 2022 under Rule 33 of the Karnataka State Civil Services (Conduct) Rules, 2021. After his release on bail, he challenged the suspension in WP No. 14846 of 2022 and obtained an interim stay, which led to his reinstatement. The Internal Complaint Committee constituted under the Sexual Harassment of Women at Workplace (Prevention, Prohibition and Redressal) Act, 2013 — the POSH Act — did not submit a report on misconduct. Instead, it closed the complaint after recording that the complainant had agreed to withdraw it. The bench observed that this withdrawal appeared to have been obtained under pressure, as Dr. A approached the Deputy Commissioner the very next day, 19 July 2022, seeking a re-enquiry.
A Local Committee constituted under the POSH Act found, on 19 July 2022 itself, that the allegations were prima facie established. Despite this, the writ court, by judgment dated 19 June 2024, quashed the suspension order, holding that the Local Committee could not have been constituted in the light of Section 10(4) of the POSH Act, and that Dr. Hebbar could not be kept under suspension without initiation of departmental proceedings. No departmental enquiry was initiated against Dr. Hebbar after that judgment.
In less than a year from that judgment, a second complaint was filed. On 14 June 2025, Dr. P, a second-year postgraduate student in the Department of General Surgery at SIMS, was invited to a thesis-completion party at Sri Sai International Hotel, Shimoga. The bench found that Dr. Hebbar had instructed a final-year student to invite Dr. P. During dinner, Dr. Hebbar seated Dr. P next to him and, according to her complaint filed with the Internal Complaint Committee on 19 June 2025, sexually harassed her — touching her thigh repeatedly and holding her hand under the table for approximately 20 to 25 minutes. An FIR was registered on 20 June 2025 in Crime No. 54 of 2025 under Section 75(2) of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, 2023 and Sections 3(1)(w)(i) and 3(2)(va) of the Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes (Prevention of Atrocities) Amendment Act, 2015. Dr. Hebbar was arrested on 26 June 2025 and remained in judicial custody until 4 July 2025. He was placed under suspension under Rule 33 of the said Rules.
The POSH Committee's interim report dated 3 July 2025 found the allegations prima facie true. Its final report dated 5 August 2025 recorded that witnesses present at the hotel observed Dr. Hebbar asking Dr. P to sit beside him and that, after the complaint was filed, Dr. Hebbar called one of those witnesses and requested him to testify on his behalf — a call recording of which was noted by the Committee. The Committee recommended disciplinary action including dismissal and cancellation of his medical licence.
The Reinstatement Order and the Director's Recommendation
Within 18 days of the suspension order, Dr. Hebbar submitted a representation dated 21 July 2025 to the SIMS Director requesting reinstatement. That representation was forwarded by the Director to the Principal Secretary on 8 September 2025. On 22 September 2025, the Principal Secretary wrote to the Director seeking his opinion on reinstatement within one week. The Director responded on 6 October 2025 with a recommendation that the bench described as a “glowing encomium” listing Dr. Hebbar's surgical output, research publications, and indispensability to the institution — without mentioning the misconduct, the FIR, his arrest, or the findings of the Internal Complaint Committee.
The Director's recommendation cited, among other factors, that Dr. Hebbar had performed 1,029 surgeries (647 in General Surgery and 382 in Cancer Surgery) between July 2021 and June 2025, generating Rs. 1,47,20,030 for the organisation; that he was guiding four postgraduate students; and that the institution required his services to meet National Medical Council guidelines. It also referenced representations from political persons and NGOs seeking revocation of his suspension, and stated that poor and backward-community patients were being forced to private hospitals in his absence.
The Principal Secretary, Mr. Mohammed Mohsin, IAS, passed the order dated 17 November 2025 — within four and a half months of the suspension — revoking Dr. Hebbar's suspension and directing his temporary transfer to Haveri Institute of Medical Sciences until further orders. The bench noted that the Articles of Charges had already been issued on 12 November 2025, five days before this order, making the revocation entirely without justification under Rule 10(5)(b) of the Karnataka Civil Services (Classification, Control and Appeal) Rules, 1957. That rule requires the competent authority to review suspension within six months only if a departmental enquiry has not commenced or a charge sheet has not been filed; here, the charge sheet had already been forwarded to the Principal Secretary.
Dr. Hebbar was relieved from SIMS on 29 November 2025 but did not report to Haveri Institute of Medical Sciences. The SIMS Director brought this to the notice of the Principal Secretary on 22 December 2025. Rather than complying with the transfer order, Dr. Hebbar filed WP No. 35404 of 2025 challenging the transfer itself. The learned Single Judge, vide interim order dated 9 February 2026, stayed the transfer on the ground that it was not backed by resolutions of the respective Governing Councils. The Governing Councils subsequently passed resolutions on 6 March 2026 granting post facto approval for the transfer. Dr. Hebbar then challenged those resolutions by filing WP No. 15057 of 2026, in which the Single Judge, vide order dated 12 May 2026, stayed the resolutions as well.
The Division Bench Proceedings: Personal Affidavits and Accountability
SIMS filed WA No. 675 of 2026 challenging the Single Judge's interim order dated 9 February 2026. On 2 June 2026, the Division Bench set aside that interim order, observing that a teacher found guilty of sexually harassing his own student could not remain in the same institution and that the post facto approval of the transfer was valid. On 1 July 2026, the bench clubbed the appeal with both writ petitions for disposal by a common judgment.
On 15 June 2026, the bench issued notice to Mr. Mohammed Mohsin, Principal Secretary and Vice-Chairman of the Governing Council, SIMS, and to Dr. Virupakshappa V, Director, SIMS, directing them to file personal affidavits explaining the reinstatement order. The bench flagged that this was the second instance of Dr. Hebbar being found guilty of sexual harassment and described the Principal Secretary as appearing to have “scant concerns for the women safety and dignity.”
Dr. Virupakshappa V appeared personally before the bench on 1 July 2026. The bench found no plausible explanation in his affidavit for recommending reinstatement, noting that he had praised Dr. Hebbar extensively while omitting any reference to the past misconduct, the FIR, the arrest, or the Internal Complaint Committee's findings. The bench was not satisfied with his explanation and directed him to file a further affidavit. Mr. Mohammed Mohsin was absent that day, having sought exemption on the ground of an official overseas engagement. His exemption was allowed, but he was directed to appear on the next date.
On 13 July 2026, the bench noted that the Director's further affidavit sought to justify his recommendation by invoking a State Government notification dated 25 November 2020, read with Rule 10 of the Karnataka Civil Services Rules, 1957, which he interpreted as prohibiting suspension beyond six months. The bench rejected this reading, pointing out that Rule 10(5)(b) does not mandate revocation where a charge sheet has already been filed, as was the case here by 12 November 2025. The bench then sought Mr. Mohammed Mohsin's response, and in that response, the bench found that Mr. Mohsin had attempted to place the blame entirely on the Director, while withholding the fact that it was he who had directed the Director on 22 September 2025 to make a recommendation on Dr. Hebbar's representation in the first place.
Legal Reasoning: Sensitivity in Sexual Harassment Cases, Technicality Must Yield
The Division Bench relied on the Supreme Court's decision in Union of India and Others v. Dilip Paul [2023 SCC OnLine SC 1423], which in turn affirmed the principles laid down in Apparel Export Promotion Council v. A K Chopra [(1999) 1 SCC 759]. The bench extracted the observation that in cases involving sexual harassment, courts must examine broader probabilities rather than narrow technicalities, that the victim's testimony which inspires confidence must be relied upon, and that “sympathy in such cases in favour of the superior officer is wholly misplaced and mercy has no relevance.”
The bench applied these principles to reject the technicalities that had driven the Single Judge's two interim orders — the absence of Governing Council resolutions at the time of the initial transfer order, and the subsequent challenge to the post facto resolutions. It held that given the gravity of the proven charges and the failure of institutions to protect the victims, such technicalities were secondary. The bench observed that staying Dr. Hebbar's transfer had been “like adding salt to the injury of the victim” who would face him every day at SIMS.
The bench also directed attention to the systemic conditions that suppress complaints: an Associate Professor controls marks in internal examinations and viva voce, giving him structural power over students. The bench found it probable that other victims had not come forward for fear of career consequences and further humiliation, given that Dr. Hebbar had emerged unscathed from the 2022 episode.
On the conduct of the Director and the Principal Secretary, the bench held that they had “committed gross misconduct of protecting an accused who is facing the charges of sexually abusing and harassing his own students” and had been “totally insensitive to the honour, dignity, humiliation, harassment and sexual abuse suffered by the students.”
Order
The Division Bench, by its judgment dated 4 August 2026, passed the following directions:
The writ appeal WA No. 675 of 2026 is allowed. The writ petitions WP No. 35404 of 2025 and WP No. 15057 of 2026 filed by Dr. Ashwin Hebbar K are dismissed.
The order dated 17 November 2025, by which Dr. Hebbar's suspension was revoked, is cancelled in the exercise of the court's extraordinary jurisdiction under Article 226 of the Constitution of India. Dr. Hebbar shall remain suspended until the disciplinary enquiry is completed and an appropriate order of punishment is passed. During the suspension period, he shall remain attached to Haveri Institute of Medical Sciences.
The State Government is directed to take departmental proceedings against Dr. Virupakshappa V, Director of SIMS, forthwith. The Department of Personnel and Training, Government of India, and the State Government are directed to take appropriate action against Mr. Mohammed Mohsin, IAS, Principal Secretary/Additional Chief Secretary, Department of Medical Education.
A copy of the judgment is directed to be forwarded forthwith to the Chief Secretary, State of Karnataka; the Secretary, Ministry of Personnel and Training, Government of India; and the Secretary, National Medical Commission, for necessary compliance. The National Medical Commission is directed to take appropriate action against Dr. Ashwin Hebbar, including, if he is found guilty, cancellation of his medical licence. All pending interlocutory applications stand disposed of.