The governing body of St Stephen’s College, on Friday, dismissed administrative officer Subha Kumar Dash, a day after the Delhi High Court dismissed his petition against his suspension order. The court had dismissed Dash’s plea observing that the college had revoked his suspension order. In a governing body meeting, Dash was suspended on grounds of misconduct and maligning the college’s reputation. Earlier, Dash had alleged that principal Valson Thampu had tried to convert him to Christianity. According to sources, around 12 of 18 governing body members were present at the meeting. Thampu, however, decided to stay away from the meeting. “I did not want to influence the governing body’s decision,” he said. Moreover, the governing body did not summon Dash on Friday. Three members of the governing body — two teacher representatives and one of the university nominees — gave their dissent. “I said the suspension was not in order because a showcause notice should have been issued to the concerned person and this was not issued. He should have been given an opportunity to defend his case,” J P Sharma, a university nominee in St Stephen’s governing body, said. The governing body has called for an independent inquiry, under the chairperson, on the issue. Ten days ago, Thampu had suspended Dash, following which Dash had challenged the suspension in the High Court. Before the matter was heard, Thampu revoked the order on December 17. Moreover, the governing body meeting was scheduled for Friday. Following these developments, the High Court, on Thursday, dismissed the petition as infructuous.
