Suspended for media byte, IIT-B pupil to be reinstated

Time of India

11 hours ago

Mumbai: IIT-Bombay must reinstate a Ph D student who had been suspended in April this year for 'giving unauthorised interviews to the media'. Bombay high court has said this in an order passed on July 15.
The court said that the suspension will cease to have effect from July 25 and the period of suspension undergone will not have any bearing on the record of the petitioner. An official from the institute said they would follow the court's order.
The student, Akshay Sawant, from department of humanities and social sciences, was suspended for eight months based on a report of the institute's fact-finding committee and disciplinary action committee.
He moved court seeking quashing of the suspension order, stating that the charges levelled were unfounded and misplaced and the action taken against him was based on 'false, unreasonable and arbitrary charges'.
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In an article published in a newspaper in February, Sawant was quoted as saying, 'Every festival is celebrated on our campus. There are several Hindu festivals and most of them including Holi, Diwali, Ganesh Chaturthi, are celebrated with much fervour.
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The allegations are baseless and merely an attempt to target the department's liberal environment'.
The statement was made in the context of the allegations of favouritism against the institute by third parties.
The student got a call regarding 'unauthorised interviews given to the media'.
The student said in the petition that he did not give consent for the quote to the mediaperson, which he had also submitted before the fact-finding committee.
The student received an order on Apr 28, suspending him till Dec 31, 2025, with immediate effect. Even after writing to the institute appealing against the order, there was no response, forcing the student to move court.
Disposing of the petition, the court mentioned that the order was passed in the peculiar facts and circumstances of the case so that the academic career of the petitioner should not be jeopardised. The order said he had made the statements in the article in an individual capacity.
Ambedkar Periyar Phule Study Circle, a student collective, on Friday said in a statement they were celebrating "victory for students' rights and a pushback against casteist and authoritarian tendencies of the IIT- Bombay administration…"