The Times of India-27th Nov 2014,
Sacked from Tamil institute, scholar moves HC, gets stay
CHENNAI: Nixing the Centre’s move to remove Tamil scholar and former vice-chancellor of Tamil University Avvai Natarajan from the post of vice-chairperson of Central Institute of Classical Tamil (CICT), the Madras high court on Wednesday stayed his termination orders.
Justice V Ramasubramanian, staying operation of a notification dated November 21 emailed to the scholar, issued a notice to the Union ministry of human resource development and sough a reply within three weeks.
In his petition, Natarajan said he was nominated to the post of vice-chairperson by the previous UPA government on February 25, 2014 for a period of three years. Noting that he was associated with CICT since its inception, he said he satisfied all norms required for the post. On November 21, he said, he received a scanned copy of his termination orders issued by the HRD ministry without assigning any reason.
Natarajan said appointment and removal of a vice-chairperson are governed by specific rules, and added that they had not been followed. In this regard, he cited celebrated centenarian and jurist V R Krishna Iyer, who had said: “Educated men with their soaring ideals, often fall and get crushed under the government rules and wheels of the car of Lord Jagannath.”
Natarajan said he was removed and a retired professor of Pachaiyappa’s College, P Prakasam, was appointed in his place. He said he ought not to have been humiliated by the ministry .
The CICT, which is an autonomous body under the HRD ministry, has chief minister of Tamil Nadu as ex-officio chairperson.
When contacted, Natarajan, a close friend of DMK chief M Karunanidhi, said petty politics could be behind his removal. “But my respects and admiration for the leaders of BJP are quite known. ,” he said.
Natarajan, a Padma shri awardee, said during his seven-month stint in CICT he was not given a chamber or office staff. He hardly visited the Taramani campus, but convened general council meeting in his leadership, in the absence of the chief minister, he said.
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