IIT Kharagpur withdraws affidavit filed in Delhi High Court

Under apparent pressure from HRD Ministry, IIT Kharagpur has withdrawn an affidavit filed in Delhi High Court challenging the jurisdiction of CVC which had directed action against three IIT professors for their alleged involvement in a scam.
The development comes after the Ministry summoned top IIT-Kgp officials last week to seek an explanation, sources said, adding the affidavit was withdrawn today.
They said the ball is now in IIT-Kgp's court to act fast against the professors before the ministry contemplates its next move.
The summoning of the officials last Thursday came after the anti-corruption watchdog had asked the ministry whether it was consulted by the premier technical institute before moving the high court.

IIT-Kgp had last month claimed it is an autonomous body and the corruption watchdog has no jurisdiction over it.
Filing an affidavit before the Delhi High Court on March 20 in a case filed by whistle blower Rajeev Kumar, the prestigious institution sought dismissal of Kumar's plea on the ground of CVC's jurisdiction.

"CVC does not have jurisdiction over the answering respondent (IIT Kharagpur)...," the affidavit filed by IIT- Kgp's registrar Tapan Kumar Ghoshal said.
Referring to the CVC Act, the institution said the "answering respondent (IIT) being an autonomous institute does not fall within any of the categories mentioned in the Act".

The affidavit had come just days ahead of the institute's Board of Governors proposed meeting to respond to CVC's direction to the ministry and the institute to initiate major penalty proceedings against three IIT professors indicated in Rs 40 crore Coalnet scam.
The corruption relates to the involvement of IIT top bosses for their alleged involvement in the Coalnet scam for computerisation of Coal India Limited and its subsidiaries between 2001 and 2004.