DUTA Letter to Visitor, 1.5.2015

1.5.2015

This is to draw your attention to a serious travesty of justice and attack on free speech in Hindu College, a constituent college of Delhi University with a majority of members of the Governing Body being from a private trust, Punj and Lloyd.

While the Trust has not fulfilled its constitutional obligation of contributing at least 5% of the maintenance grant, the functioning of the college has, in recent times, been the subject matter of much controversy centering around irregular admissions, and flouting of financial and administrative norms. The Chairman, Shri SNP Punj, and other members of the Trust have sought to silence the articulation of legitimate concerns by unleashing a series of vindictive and high-handed measures against dissenting teachers. The latest is an extreme form of punitive action taken against seven teachers for writing a letter to the Lieutenant Governor seeking to draw his attention to possible irregularities in the construction of a new building. This constitutes a direct attack on the fundamental rights of teachers to take up issues of irregularities with constitutional authorities.

The written order served on the afore-mentioned seven teachers by the Acting Principal lists the following punitive action to be taken against them.(a) they will each lose two annual increments, with cumulative effect (This is a violation of Ordinance XII, Clause4, and Ordinance XVIII, Clause 8(2)) (b) they will be debarred from holding any administrative post for five years, including membership of any statutory committee formed by the Staff Council, starting immediately; (c) they will be “continuously under watch”, and reports on their conduct will be submitted to the GB annually; (d) this will be reviewed after five years by the GB; and (e) in the meanwhile, the fact of this punishment will be raised at any consideration of promotion. Incredibly, this draconian measure is being represented by the Chairman of the GB as a “lenient” one, and aimed at “not only them but even others in future for working against the institution”.

Significantly, this order will prevent the seven teachers from working as members of Staff Council committees, where they could articulate concerns about the functioning of the college, including the hostel and admissions. On the issue of admissions, the Staff Council has been at loggerheads with the Chairman, who had refused to implement the sports and ECA quota after being denied a management quota by the university.

In March 2014, soon after the letter to the LG was written, these teachers were charged with “gross misconduct” and “bringing disrepute to the College”, subjected to a farce of an inquiry, conducted by two members of the very governing body (GB) against whom they had written to the LG, and despite their various written submissions and protests about the manner in which this farcical inquiry was conducted, they were found “guilty”.

This action of the GB comes close on the heels of a similarly extreme step taken barely a month ago, when the services of two other teachers from the same college were terminated. There, too, the procedure leading up to their dismissal from service was riddled with bias, prejudice and violations of rules and due process, from start to finish. It is significant that the seven teachers currently being targeted had also been vociferous in their support of the two dismissed colleagues, and two of them had even served as defence assistant in the inquiry against those two teachers. These two dismissed teachers have appealed to the Chancellor under Clause 9(1) of the Annexure to Ordinance XII more than a month ago, but their subsistence salaries have still not been released by the College despite repeated reminders, which is a violation of the provisions of the afore-mentioned Ordinance.

Such high-handedness clearly arises from the Chairman’s misconception that the Hindu Education Trust “owns” the College, as stated explicitly by the Chairman in the punishment order. He clearly treats the college like his personal fiefdom and its teachers as criminals who must not be allowed to express their disagreement about anything and be kept under surveillance. He is encouraged in this attitude by the University authorities who have been complicit, through their University representatives on the Governing Body, in the flouting of all norms and procedures laid down in the Acts, Statutes and Ordinances of Delhi University.

It is ironic that at a time when the Supreme Court is standing up for free speech by repealing Section 66A of the IT Act, and re-iterating the principles of Article 19(2), as in the recent case of the student of St. Stephen’s College, Devansh Mehta, the University and College authorities are bent on cracking down on dissent and gagging the University community especially in matters of academic policy and administrative and financial irregularities. The resulting subversion of the democratic culture of dialogue, debate and dissent is inimical to any meaningful education, that can survive and grow only if there is freedom of thought and expression.

The DUTA has been taking up the issue of the trampling of all rules, procedures and norms in Hindu College with the University authorities and had also highlighted them in the White Paper submitted to you, but the situation has only got steadily worse. As a last resort, the DUTA held a one-day token strike on the 10th of March and a daily dharna along with the Staff Association of Hindu College for the last one month on the issue of victimisation of teachers of Hindu College. 

We appeal for your urgent intervention in the matter, so that the punitive measures can be withdrawn at the earliest and confidence of the University community in the rule of law and fairplay is restored. We also appeal to you to ensure that the University authorities play a more responsible and ethical role in the entire matter, in keeping with the University ordinances, the principles of natural justice and the democratic ethos of a university.