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Journalism of Courage
Putting an end to a longstanding controversy at IIT Kanpur, the Supreme Court has suggested Subrahmanyam Saderla, a Dalit teacher, and his colleagues, whom he had accused of harassment and caste discrimination in 2018, resolve their differences amicably and “work together as a team in the best interest of the institution and their students”.
The top court also endorsed the “genuineness” of Saderla’s PhD dissertation and doctorate degree (in wake of plagiarism allegations), thereby confirming the validity of his professorship at the institute.
Saderla, who joined the Department of Aerospace Engineering, IIT Kanpur, on January 1, 2018, had accused four of his colleagues at the institute of discrimination and harassment on January 12, 2018. The institute’s internal inquiries committee found the accused at fault, which led to Saderla filing an FIR against them.
After Saderla’s FIR against his colleagues was quashed by the Allahabad HC in 2020, he moved the SC. The top court’s verdict came on February 13.
While the case in the SC did not directly pertain to the originality of Saderla’s PhD thesis, the court appreciated that he had added a corrigendum to his thesis at the suggestion of the expert committee.
“There is no remaining doubt regarding the genuineness of the PhD thesis, and the degree that was awarded to the appellant (Saderla),” SC said.
