SHILLONG: In a setback to IIM Shillong, the High Court of Meghalaya has asked the Institute to pay the salary for several months of former visiting professor Harwant Singh Chhabra, whose service was terminated by the then Director Prof. Keya Sengupta.
Chhabra who was appointed on contractual basis was terminated by Sengupta with effect from October 12, 2012. A note was also posted in the website of Institute of IIM about the termination of services of Chhabra who was appointed on 26.12.2011.
Chhabra was appointed as visiting professor on contractual basis for the Institute for a period of two years with effect from 31.12.2011 to 30.12.2013 subject to the conditions that the contract may be terminated by one month’s notice from either side. However, in the recent order, the Judge of High Court of Meghalaya T. Nandakumar Singh after hearing the counsels of both the petitioner and IIM Shillong asked the Institute to pay within two months the salary from 12.10.2012 to 12.02.2013 minus one month salary already paid in lieu of one month’s notice earlier served to Chhabra. While advocate R. Jha appeared on behalf of Chhabra, lawyers HS Thangkhiew, and N Mozika appeared for Director IIM and Keya Sengupta.
Since Sengupta was Acting Director of IIM, the Court found that the termination letter of Sengupta issued to Chhabra on 12.10.2012 was not legal as she was not the competent authority. It was only on 31.10.2012 that the Governing Board in its XXVI meeting held on 31.10.2012 in the conference room of MHRD, Shastri Bhavan, New Delhi, had passed the resolution No.26.01 that in conformity with the directions of the Ministry of HRD, Sengupta can exercise full powers of a regular Director till further directions to the contrary are received from the Ministry of HRD.
The court also observed that “in the normal service law parlance of the land, the service of the person holding the civil post under the Union or State shall not be dismissed or removed by an authority subordinate to that by which he was appointed”.