IIM-C may spring legal challenge

KOLKATA: The IIM Calcutta faculty are gearing up for another fight with the HRD ministry. The faculty will soon meet to decide if they should move court to challenge the legality of Friday''s board meeting.
"The ministry sent people who weren''t supposed to be present. At least five persons, known to be close to Murli Manohar Joshi''s ministry, came as proxies," a faculty member said.
A letter from the ministry reached IIM-C on Thursday evening, giving a list of five persons who would replace the five original members at the meeting.P.D. Chitlangia came in place of industry representative Hemant Kanoria; R.S. Goenka filled in for another original industry representative, K.K. Jajodia; P.N. Razdan, an AICTE official, substituted for AICTE representative N. Natarajan; Hulas Singh, an HRD ministry official, replaced SC/ST representative Ramnath Kovind; and S.K. Dubey, an IIT director, came in place of Naresh Narad, secretary in the department of heavy industries.
"Only a central government nominee, who should be a civil servant representing a department, can be replaced by another civil servant," a faculty member said, quoting Rule V of the IIM-C Society Rules.
But a board member – not on the IIM faculty – said there is nothing wrong in the nomination. He maintained that the ministry had followed existing rules.
So, what about the fee slash? "The meeting ended with the board asking chairman Y.C. Deveshwar to frame the resolution keeping in mind the interests of all stakeholders. Till then it can''t be said IIM-C has passed a resolution on the issue," IIM-C director Shekhar Chowdhury said.