Calcutta HC rejects IITKGP Director’s plea to defer personal appearance

The case pertains to the death of a third-year student of IIT Kharagpur whose semi-decomposed body was found in his hostel room on October 14, 2022. 

The Calcutta high court has brought forward the date of personal appearance of the IIT Kharagpur director in a case of the death of a third-year student of IIT Kharagpur, Faizan Ahmed, whose semi-decomposed body was found in his hostel room on October 14, 2022, following an appeal that the appearance, originally scheduled for January 24, be postponed. IIT Kharagpur Director VK Tewari cited personal reasons while seeking deferment of his appearance in the court, The Telegraph reported. 

Justice Rajasekhar Mantha, in whose court the appeal came up for hearing, advanced Tewari’s appearance date to January 20. RN Majumder, one of the two lawyers representing IIT Kharagpur, said: “We moved an appeal so the hearing could be deferred. But the court has brought the date forward and scheduled the director’s appearance for January 20.” 

Ranajit Chatterjee, one of the lawyers representing the family of Faizan Ahmed, the student who was found dead in a hostel room in October, said the hearing would be held in the court of Justice Mantha, the report said. 

The judge had on December 6 struck down an appeal by lawyers representing the IIT that the director be excused from making an in-person appearance in the court and ordered him to appear on January 24. In November, following allegations from hostel wardens regarding ragging incidents, a bench had ordered the director of the institute to file a report on the steps taken to crack down on these incidents. The bench had also asked the IIT Kharagpur Director to name the students involved in ragging. 

Faizan’s aunt, Salma, said: “We are happy to know that the date has been brought forward. More than three months have passed since Faizan was found dead on the campus. We had to file a writ petition as the institution and the police failed to give us justice. We suspect it was a case of ragging and the court is our only resort.” 

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