The Delhi High Court has directed IIT Kharagpur to accept the resignation of its former professor and whistle-blower Rajeev Kumar from the date of leaving the technical institution in June 2015 instead of 2017.
Kumar fought a six-year-long legal battle since he was given compulsory retirement by IIT Kharagpur on charges of misconduct. He got a posting at the Jawaharlal Nehru University last year.
Hearing a plea filed on Kumar's behalf, the court directed IIT Kharagpur to issue a fresh order accepting his resignation with effect from June 11, 2015 and communicate the same to JNU.
"The respondents (IIT Kharagpur) will also calculate the benefits on the aforesaid basis and communicate the same to JNU," it said in the July 11 order.
IIT Kharagpur had in May 2011 suspended Kumar on charges of misconduct.
He was accused of damaging its reputation by levelling allegations of irregularities in admissions, purchase of laptops and rampant copying by students in exams.
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Kumar was hailed as an unsung hero by the Supreme Court the same year for his efforts to reform the IIT Joint Entrance Examination, which has since been re-christened as JEE Advanced.
The penalty of compulsory retirement, imposed on Kumar by the authorities at IIT Kharagpur, was set aside by Pranab Mukherjee days before he demitted office as president in 2017.
After IIT Kharagpur relieved him of duties, Kumar joined JNU in June 2015 through an order which granted him a lien for two years from June 12, 2015 to June 11, 2017.
The order had said he would be deemed to have resigned from IIT Kharagpur if he did not join it back at the expiry of the lien.
Lien represents the right of a government employee to hold a regular post, whether permanent or temporary, either immediately or on the termination of the period of absence.
When the JNU administration decided to confirm him as professor in May 2016, he was asked to submit a copy of lien termination or resignation from IIT Kharagpur.
Kumar then submitted his resignation and lien termination request to the IIT, which did not accept it, saying a petition filed in the Delhi High Court by him has not yet reached its logical conclusion.
It, however, accepted his resignation on August 14, 2017 following a Delhi High Court order in this regard.
Kumar had moved the High Court and obtained a stay on the IIT's decision to impose the penalty of compulsory retirement on him.
The court had on August 16 last year clarified that in view of IIT Kharagpur accepting Kumar's technical resignation, JNU was not required to release him on account of the request made by the technical institute.
In its last year order, the court mentioned the date of resignation acceptance as June 11, 2017, as mentioned in a letter from the IIT. Kumar needed to be confirmed in JNU from the date of his joining there i.e. June 2015.
JNU was repeatedly requesting IIT Kharagpur for accepting his resignation with effect from the date of his relieving, i.e. June 2015.
Despite JNU's repeated requests, the IIT did not change the date of acceptance of resignation. Therefore, Kumar moved the high court again for its direction to IIT for changing the date of acceptance of resignation so that he can be confirmed in JNU.