Supreme Court Stays Parts of Karnataka HC Order in Mohammad Mohsin’s SIMS Case
Bengaluru: The Supreme Court has stayed specified portions of a Karnataka High Court judgment in proceedings involving Mohammad Mohsin and the Shivamogga Institute of Medical Sciences (SIMS), while separately staying a July 3, 2025 suspension order against Virupakshappa V. until the next hearing.
A Bench of Justices Dipankar Datta and Sheel Nagu passed the interim order on September 18, 2026. It issued notice on the special leave petitions and the requests for interim relief, returnable in four weeks.
The lead matter is titled Mohammad Mohsin versus The State of Karnataka & Others, Special Leave Petition (Civil), Diary No. 49217/2026. The record identifies the challenged High Court decisions as those dated August 4, 2026, in Writ Appeal No. 675/2026 and Writ Petition Nos. 35404/2025 and 15057/2026.
Limited stay of High Court directions
“Paragraphs 36 to 41 & 46 of the impugned judgment and order shall remain stayed till the next date of hearing,” the Supreme Court directed.
The interim protection is expressly tied to those numbered paragraphs. The two-page record does not reproduce their contents and does not state that the entire High Court judgment has been stayed.
A press release supplied to The Bengaluru Live describes the proceedings as arising from High Court directions for departmental action against Mohsin, identified in the release as additional chief secretary to the Medical Education Department, and Dr Virupakshappa, identified as the SIMS director.
According to the release, the underlying dispute concerns departmental action involving Dr Ashwin Hebbar, an associate professor at SIMS, following a sexual harassment complaint. The release says Hebbar was initially suspended, subsequently reinstated and transferred to the Haveri Institute of Medical Sciences, and challenged his suspension and transfer before the High Court.
These background details are set out in the press release; the Supreme Court’s brief record of proceedings does not recount the allegations or decide their merits.
Suspension relief names Virupakshappa
In a separate direction, the Supreme Court said the order dated July 3, 2025 suspending the petitioner in Diary No. 51547/2026 “shall remain stayed, till the next date of hearing”. A footnote identifies that petitioner as “Virupakshappa V.”
This is a material distinction from the accompanying press release, which states that Hebbar’s suspension would remain in force. The supplied Supreme Court order does not contain that direction: its suspension-related relief refers to Virupakshappa and stays the suspension order.
The Bench also granted the applications seeking permission to file special leave petitions. Along with the lead matter, the record lists Diary No. 51547/2026, SLP(C) No. 31924/2026 and SLP(C) Nos. 32675–32677/2026.
The order provides interim relief pending further hearing; it does not finally dispose of the petitions or record an exoneration of any party. Although notice is returnable in four weeks, the supplied record does not specify a calendar date for the next hearing.
About the Author
