Letter to Chairman, Hindu College Governing Body

10 October 2013

It has been brought to our notice that two teachers of Hindu College, Dr. Arvind Choudhry and Dr. Jai Inder Singh, have been issued a show cause notice by you. The notice dated 26.9.13, was delivered to them on 1.10.13. In this context, we would like to make the following submissions:

1. As per Ordinance XVIII, it is the Principal, in his capacity as Member Secretary of the Governing Body, who can issue a show-cause notice on behalf of the Governing Body to an employee, and not the Chairman. Therefore, the show-cause notice issued by you in your capacity as Chairman is at variance with the Ordinance.
2. According to the Government of India Rules for Disciplinary Proceedings, the charged employee has to be given an opportunity to place his /her reply to the show-cause notice before the Disciplinary Authority, which in this case is the Governing Body. It is only after consideration of this reply that the GB may decide to proceed in the matter and set up an Enquiry. Therefore, the setting up of the one-man Enquiry Committee at this stage is premature and appears to have been taken in the meeting of the GB, where matters were not placed be in a fair and transparent manner.
3. The show-cause notice refers to an alleged incident during the Staff Association meeting held on 27.8.13. It is not clear if you had sought the feedback from the Office-Bearers of the Staff Association about this alleged incident. In the absence of this feedback, the show-cause notice appears to be a case of unwarranted interference in the affairs of the Staff Association, a voluntary body of teachers.
4. We may add that according to media reports, there was a dispute between two parties, and conflicting versions of the event have been given. The show-cause notice to these two teachers seems to be based only on the version of one of the two parties despite the fact that the Principal was seized of the matter, having received complaints from both sides. It therefore displays a bias and amounts to fuelling of interpersonal differences in the staff rather than a genuine attempt to ascertain the facts and help to resolve the differences. In such matters, the role of the GB, if any, ought to be conciliatory.
5. Interpersonal disputes are no basis for issuance of a show cause notice. The action of the GB is a completely disproportionate response to the alleged problem, and is at variance with the principles of natural justice and the rules governing service conditions of teachers.
6. Issuance of the show-cause notice has vitiated the atmosphere of the college and strained relations of the faculty with the management.

We urge you, therefore, to withdraw the show-cause notice issued to the teachers at the earliest to restore a harmonious working relationship between the faculty and the management. A healthy working relationship between the faculty and the management will help to take up, more effectively, urgent issues of common concern such as problems faced by students in the light of the recent academic restructuring by the University, infrastructural requirements and the urgent need to  make regular appointments.