Bombay HC denies urgent hearing to PhD student suspended by TISS for misconduct

Mumbai: The Bombay High Court on Tuesday said there was no need for urgent hearing on a plea filed by research scholar Ramadas KS of Tata Institute of Social Sciences (TISS), who was suspended from the institute for alleged misconduct and anti-national activities.

A vacation bench of Justices Arif Doctor and Somasekhar Sundaresan released Ramadas’ plea for hearing on June 18 after the Supreme Court’s summer vacation.

The judges said the application could wait and there was no urgency.

Ramadas, a doctoral student at TISS’s School of Development Studies, had earlier this month filed a complaint against the institute’s April 18 order suspending him for two years.

His lawyer, Mihir Desai, told the court on Tuesday that Ramadas’ scholarship had been stopped as per the suspension order and he was facing difficulties.

The institute’s affidavit stated that the student had an alternative remedy available to him and therefore his request should not be granted.

The court refused to hear the matter urgently, stating that the arguments on the issue of maintainability must be heard first.

According to the TISS affidavit, in view of the increasing number of serious misconduct cases by students, a high-level joint committee comprising officials in senior positions within the institute has been constituted to look into issues of student misconduct and disciplinary action.

The affidavit states that the remedy against any decision of the committee is to approach the vice-chancellor of the institute with an appeal.

The institute sought dismissal of Ramadas’ petition on the grounds that he could not have approached the Supreme Court directly without first appealing to the Vice Chancellor.

The affidavit alleged that after a suspension order was issued against Ramadas on April 18, Ramadas received letters from certain political parties and organizations and a campaign against the institution took place on social media.

“This shows that the petitioner (Ramadas) is using his influence and strong political connections to pressure the institute to give in to the illegal demand of the petitioner. Therefore, no leniency is required,” the affidavit said.

The affidavit claimed that when students secure admission into TISS, they will be made aware of their duties and responsibilities as well as certain ‘dos ​​and don’ts’, the violation of which would subject the student to criminal consequences/disciplinary action.

In a rejoinder affidavit filed by his lawyer Desai, Ramadas claimed that he may not get an independent hearing from the institute.

He denied any political connections against the institute.

Ramdas said the fact that so many fellow students and organizations support him shows that the suspension order is wrong.

“The entire disciplinary proceedings were conducted in an arbitrary manner and in violation of the principles of natural justice and fundamental rights of the complainant and accordingly, the Supreme Court alone has jurisdiction to set aside the proceedings,” the rejoinder affidavit said.

In his petition, Ramadas appealed to the court to overturn the suspension order and restore his rights as a student.

He said he was “illegally, arbitrarily and unjustly suspended from the institute.”

Ramadas was accused of taking part in a protest march in New Delhi in January against the central government’s “anti-student policies” and urging people to watch the documentary “Ram Ke Naam” during the inauguration ceremony of the Ram temple in Ayodhya.