There were few male teachers, Pepalla said, who were comfortable any more of working as guides to girl students. The two-member committee to look into the harassment case consists of senators Jayshree Mehta and Tejal Amin; the third member is still to be decided on.

Specifying his reasons for not accepting the post, Pepalla said, ``Since I am a representative of the teaching community, I could be biased.'' In fact, he said, the committee should have representation from the student community as well.

Vice-Chancellor Anil Kane, when informed of this decision, said if BUTA did not suggest a name for the third member of the committee, he would appoint a retired judge.

In its resolution passed late on Sunday night, BUTA has condemned the hasty decision taken by Kane to suspend the teacher even before the inquiry committee submitted its report. Members of the executive committee said the fact that the V-C was forced to take a decision showed that he did not care for justice and the due process of a proper inquiry.