IDUKKI: What started as an attempt to stop exam cheating turned into a decade-long nightmare for Prof Anand Viswanathan. On July 19, 2025, the Additional Sessions Court here acquitted the former Economics professor of Government College, Munnar, in a sexual harassment case filed by students who were earlier caught for malpractice. The court ruled the allegations were fabricated, bringing closure to a saga that mixed politics, campus rivalries, and personal vendetta.
The controversy began in August 2014, when Viswanathan, serving as Additional Chief Superintendent of semester exams, seized notes from five postgraduate students during an MA Economics test. Days later, the same students accused him of misbehaving with them inside the hall. Their complaint led to four police cases, and in 2015 the Devikulam Magistrate Court convicted him under Sections 354 and 354A of IPC, sentencing him to one year in jail.
Viswanathan has always maintained he was framed. Speaking after the acquittal, he said the case was “pure political vengeance” linked to his past run-ins with local leaders. “Back in 2007, a student was caught copying on my watch. I reported it to the university, and he was debarred. That student was an SFI activist, and then MLA S Rajendran intervened, even writing to the Education Minister to have me transferred. I challenged it in the High Court and won a stay, which later cancelled the transfer. The 2014 incident gave him another chance to retaliate,” he recalled.
He pointed out that the students involved in the 2014 case were also SFI members. “In court, they admitted that the harassment complaint was drafted at the party office. This was never about misconduct, it was about silencing me after I reported malpractice,” he said.
The appellate court found glaring contradictions in the students’ testimony, a 55 day delay in filing the FIR, and suppression of key witnesses. A Mahatma Gandhi University inquiry had also confirmed exam malpractice, with two students debarred.
Judge Laijumol Sherif concluded the case was politically coloured and implausible, setting aside the conviction. For Viswanathan, however, the damage has been lasting. “Because of this fake case, I stayed away from service for 11 years and was denied retirement benefits. The mental suffering has been beyond words. But I will fight legally to ensure those who acted behind this conspiracy are punished,” he said.