HC issues notice to IIT Chairman, Director on contempt plea

The Madras High Court today issued notice to the Chairman and Board of Governors of IIT, Chennai, and two others on a contempt plea filed by a woman faculty member, who has been fighting a legal battle for over 19 years with regard to her promotion.
Besides, Pawan Goenka, Chairman and Board of Governors, IIT, Chennai, the court issued notice to Professor Bhaskar Ramamurthi, Director, IIT Chennai and V G Booma, Registrar, IIT Chennai, on the petition, returnable by December 8.
The petitioner, working in IIT from 1989, alleged that she has been discriminated against despite her qualification in the matter of giving promotion and that ineligible candidates were given promotion.

She had approached the court in 1997 and it had ordered a CBI probe into the matter on July 25, 2013. But IIT obtained an interim stay.
On August 22, 2016, without setting aside or quashing the proceedings of 1995 and 1996, the court directed the IIT to consider her for the post of Associate Professor from July 27, 1995 and for post of professor from January 6,1997 in the light of the findings made in the appeals. However, the court set aside the order of CBI probe.
It was alleged that the IIT had deliberately disobeyed the orders to consider her promotion. IIT then tried to re-enact the selection process with regard to its advertisements of the year 1994 and 1995 through a communication dated September 28, 2016.

The petitioner said there cannot be two interviews in one recruitment process and alleged that the IIT "continues to persecute" her and called her to appear for interview on October 14, by denying her the benefits of the court judgment.
The action of IIT-M to convene another meeting of the selection committee and calling her to appear for interview were "totally unlawful and contrary to the orders of this court and in wilful and deliberate defiance of the orders of the court," she said.
She prayed to punish the three officials for their "wilful disobedience" of the order which directed them to consider her promotion as assistant professor and professor from relevant dates.