THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: The Kerala University vice-chancellor VP Mahadevan Pillai has accepted the petition filed by three teachers of SN College, Chempazhanthy, against their transfer citing that the college management’s act was a denial of natural justice to the teachers.
The VC on May 6 had conducted a hearing on the petition of the teachers, Manu Remakant, Sangeetha Hariharan and Remya CR, on the basis of a High Court directive. The three were transferred by the management after a group of female students levelled a complaint of online sexual harassment and misconduct against an Assistant Professor in the Politics department. They had apparently taken a stand in favour of the students who had raised the complaints which were overlooked by the management in the initial phase.
The counsel for the petitioners had stated that facts were contorted in the memo of charges issued to the teachers. The charges levelled were based on events that took place long before “Veyilpookkal”- a platform meant for online interaction between students and eminent personalities- was launched. The management had alleged that the platform had caused adverse reaction among the students and the teachers. The counsel said the management asked to stop the online programme the same day the sexual harassment complaint was levelled against the teacher.
The University’s legal advisor took a stand in favour of the teachers and asked the management why they went ahead with the out-of-turn transfer in the midst of the academic year and why the teachers were not heard before the decision was made. A representative of the college management said that the teachers were guilty of gross misconduct affecting the general discipline of the college and violated the UGC Regulations.