GUWAHATI: The Gauhati high court has cancelled the appointment of the officiating director of the Indian Institute of Technology, Guwahati (IIT-G), who has been holding office in the absence of a permanent director for more than 10 months now. The court has also directed authorities to redo the process for shortlisting candidates for the post of a permanent director.
The HC order came after a petition by a professor of the institute, Sashindra Kumar Kakoty, who then as the deputy director, challenged the appointment of Prof PK Iyer as the officiating director in December last year and the ongoing process of selection of a regular director on the grounds that both exercises violated the established norms.
Justice Sanjay Kumar Medhi in his order Thursday observed that though the chairman of board of governors is the ex-officio member of the selection committee, his action in this case “is apparently vitiated by bias and favouritism” and “interest of justice and fair play would require” him “to be kept away from the selection process from the very inception of shortlisting of candidates till a final selection and appointment of director of IIT G”.
The HC order came after a petition by a professor of the institute, Sashindra Kumar Kakoty, who then as the deputy director, challenged the appointment of Prof PK Iyer as the officiating director in December last year and the ongoing process of selection of a regular director on the grounds that both exercises violated the established norms.
Justice Sanjay Kumar Medhi in his order Thursday observed that though the chairman of board of governors is the ex-officio member of the selection committee, his action in this case “is apparently vitiated by bias and favouritism” and “interest of justice and fair play would require” him “to be kept away from the selection process from the very inception of shortlisting of candidates till a final selection and appointment of director of IIT G”.