An associate professor at the OP Jindal Global University in Sonipat, Haryana, was suspended after the father of a student of the varsity accused him of harassing, humiliating and discriminating against his son, which affected his mental health as well as academic performance. As a result, the university administration suspended associate professor Sarover Zaidi for one semester, beginning February 1 to July 31, 2026.
As per reports, Vishav Bajaj, father of undergraduate student Vikhyaat, had filed a complaint before the Haryana Human Rights Commission (HHRC) in November 2025. In the complaint, Bajaj alleged that his son was subjected to “harassment at the hands” of two faculty members. He said that his son wrote an essay titled ‘URI: The Surgical Strike’ on October 31, 2025. He alleged that the two teachers did not like the essay and harassed his son on November 3, 2025.
Bajaj added that his son repeatedly faced remarks “which were politically derogatory, inflammatory and deeply disturbing in nature”, during a course titled ‘Politics of Representation’ taught by the associate professor. The complaint stated that the associate professor’s remarks included “comparisons of the Prime Minister of India to Adolf Hitler, and characterisation of national security operations as mere branding exercises.”
The father said that “certain professors…began deliberately targeting” his son for praising the Modi government, PM Modi and the Indian Army. He added that after the incident, the teachers grew resentful towards his son and deliberately deducted his marks in an examination, due to which he flunked the subject. Bajaj also submitted a complaint to the university’s Vice Chancellor, after which an investigation was conducted by the executive dean. It was found during the investigation that Vikhyat’s examination scores were deducted in an unjustified manner. Later on, the university revised Vikhyat’s examination result, after which he cleared the exam.
Speaking about the incident, the university’s Chief Communications Officer, Anjoo Mohun, said that the matter was being considered by the HHRC and that the university has been following the commission’s directions. On January 16, 2026, the commission sought reports from the Sonipat Police Commissioner and the university registrar. The commission has asked the registrar to appear in person or depute a senior officer on May 13, 2026.
