IIT Kharagpur resolves disciplinary cases against teachers after apologies, responses

KOLKATA : IIT Kharagpur on Sunday said 18 professors who received showcause notices for disciplinary reasons have apologised for their conduct, resulting in the condonation of their cases. "Of the 85 professors who were showcaused on December 6, 18 have had their cases condoned after they expressed apology for their actions," an IIT KGP statement said. The remaining professors who responded to the notices were informed that "no further action is being taken against them," despite their actions being deemed "vitiated." However, the institute has "reserved the legal rights in the matter."

Sixty-two professors have been advised to "refrain from any activity which is violative of the statute and/or service rules of the institute or such other similar acts as may be construed as violative" in the future, according to an institute spokesperson. The show-cause notices were originally issued on November 12 to four office bearers of the IIT Teachers' Association after they sent a letter to the Union education ministry on September 20, alleging nepotism and arbitrary recruitment of faculty members. The institute denied the allegations, citing transparency and fairness in its recruitment process.

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Following the notices, the teachers requested an extension of the deadline for their responses, but the institute initiated "disciplinary proceedings" against them on November 21 for not responding on time. In response to the actions taken by IIT Kharagpur, the Visva Bharati University Faculty Association (VBUFA) and the Jadavpur University Teachers' Association (JUTA) expressed solidarity with the affected professors, criticising the institute’s stance as "dictatorial" towards those who voiced their concerns.