IIM-A to move court over fee cut

Faculty Council decides to join SC PIL or file separate case in Gujarat HC.

All 70 faculty members of the Indian Institute of Management, Ahmedabad (IIM-A), unanimously decided to move court against the human resources development ministry's directive to slash fees by 80 per cent, and to preserve the institute's autonomy.

In a closed-door meeting of the Faculty Council, chaired by IIM-A Dean Indira Parikh yesterday evening, a decision was taken either to join the public interest litigation being heard in the Supreme Court or to file a separate civil application in the Gujarat High Court.

"So far, it was only some people, including a student of the institute, who moved court. Now the Faculty Council has decided to take legal recourse. This will directly challenge the government's decision. In the next 2-3 days, we will work out the most suitable option," said Sebastian Morris, the spokes-person of the IIM-A Faculty Council.

"As the petition will be heard in the apex court on March 19, we have to decide fast. In order to become a party to it, we need to file an application with the court before that. We are consulting our lawyers and a decision will be taken in 2-3 days," Morris told Business Standard.

Morris, however, hastened to add that the Faculty Council was taking this step independently and neither the IIM-A Society nor the director of the institute was involved in it.

By going to the court, the Faculty Council plans to seek clarification on issues like the kind of autonomy the ministry can offer to the institute and the terms of such an autonomy.

"This is the most important point that has driven us to legal action. We will also request the court to ensure that there is status quo on all decisions, including those related to faculty members' promotion, increment or recruitment, which have been handled internally and not even by the board," Morris added.

IIM Bangalore and IIM Calcutta, which have joined hands to show their solidarity with IIM-A, however, will not be associated with the legal action being planned by the latter's Faculty Council.