Thampu did no wrong in suspending student publication: Inquiry

St. Stephen's College principal Valson Thampu's decision to "put on hold" the publication of a student magazine for not taking his clearance on its content "cannot be termed as a ban", an inquiry committee has said.
"The publication of the weekly (e-zine) was put on hold by the Principal and his decision to do so cannot be termed as a ban. The proposed publication was put in public domain without waiting for permission of the principal.
"Three of the co-founders did not see the decision as an attempt to undermine freedom of expression in college," the one-man disciplinary committee of Prof. S R Ayde said.

The suspension on the weekly e-zine, which went live on March 7 and registered over 2,000 hits on an interview of Thampu, drew criticism from several quarters including noted alumni like former Chief Election Commissioner SY Quraishi and former Delhi Lokayukta Justice Manmohan Sarin, who termed the move as "extreme" and "disproportionate".
Thampu ordered suspension of the publication of the e-zine, started by a group of four college students, for not taking his clearance on the content, and appointed a one-man disciplinary committee to look into the matter.
Thampu had last week clarified in an open letter, titled 'St.Stephen's and freedom of thought - what I wish I did not have to write', that the move was not a draconian measure but in accordance with the institution's disciplinary norms.

Thampu's open letter also carried a purported e-mail sent to him by three founder-members of the e-zine, saying, "We would like to inform you that one of our co-founders Devansh Mehta has contacted the media to run an article on the suspension of St. Stephen's Weekly. We would just like to let you know that we do not support his action and have played no part in it".
The group had tendered an apology to the administration last week though Devansh had expressed different opinion over it.
Thampu, however, remained tight-lipped whether he would allow publication of the weekly now and any action was likely against the students.