DU takes teachers’ body to court

The petition was filed on March 18,and a fresh application was attached to it on April 29 “due to subsequent development”.

Apart from asking the court to direct DUTA to submit the internal assessment marks of students,DU’s petition also seeks a permanent injunction against all DUTA activities.

The request to paralyse DUTA is the topmost on DU’s list,even before the plea on submission of internal assessment marks.

The DUTA had,on March 15,asked teachers not to submit the marks to their respective colleges and instead give them to their respective staff associations. The move was made in protest against the university’s plans to implement the semester system.

The DU’s petition,meanwhile,also seeks a declaration from the court “that teachers have no right to strike,boycott or stage dharnas”.

“The profession of a teacher is a noble one. No teacher has any right to go on strike or sit on dharna or indulge into any obstructive tactics at the cost of the careers of students and the normal functioning of educational institutions,” the petition reads. “Teachers can be no exception and have no right to resort to such activities which the legislature to its wisdom has only granted to the labour unions. The Defendant No 1 (DUTA) cannot act like a labour union by resorting to strikes,boycott,dharnas etc.”

Also attached to the petition are letters from principals of various colleges on the status of submission of internal assessment marks. All letters were despatched to the Dean of Examinations around April 21,the last day of submitting internal assessment marks to colleges. Some colleges have even provided the names of teachers who have not submitted the marks.

DUTA president Aditya Narayan Mishra and 14 other teachers have also been named for “regularly disturbing the meeting at the departments of Zoology,Botany,Physics and Chemistry”.

Also annexed is a letter from the DU Registrar to the DUTA president on March 15,accusing the teachers’ body of not cooperating with the university. “On 5.3.2010,a strike was called without any intimation to the colleges and the university administration. It may be reminded that even registered trade unions are supposed to give adequate notice to the administration and negotiate before they resort to strike or disruption of work,” the letter states.