Sunayan Deka, 30, has filed a petition in Gauhati High Court challenging his termination from the PhD programme of IIT Guwahati alleging that it was “arbitrary” and “erroneous” by the institute authority.

The petition, 1010/2020 was filed on February 4 and was registered on February 13, according to the official website of Gauhati High Court. The first hearing was February 17 and the next hearing will be held on April 4.

Deka mentioned in the petition, “The supervisor, Dr Lalit M. Pandey, continued to harass the petitioner. Dr Lalit M. Pandey even made the petitioner do his personal work such as repairing his laptop, mobile, settling his medical insurance, etc. This is why the petitioner wrote a complaint to the Prime Minister’s Office on December 10, 2017 explaining his grievances therein and praying that necessary action be taken to remedy the situation.”

“The petitioner stopped receiving his financial assistance from the month of February, 2018 and he has not received any assistance since then. His research guide has been deliberately abusing him mentally, and has exhibited research misconduct by giving unethical guest authorship in some writings. He did not get any response from the authorities of IIT-G, despite apprising them of the matter on numerous occasions,” Sauradeep Dey, the lawyer of the petitioner told The Telegraph and also mentioned it in the petition. “On January 7, 2019, the petitioner received a letter from the deputy registrar of academic affairs by which he was informed that the petitioner had been terminated from the PhD programme of IIT-G and reasons were cited for the petitioner’s termination were not adhering to the instructions of departmental postgraduate programme committee (DPPC) and thesis supervisor and for not attending/doing research work for PhD for last several months,” the petition said.

Guwahati-based Deka had joined the PhD programme of IIT Guwahati as a regular student in the January semester of 2016 in the department of biosciences and bioengineering. Deka said in the petition to terminate him from the IIT is “grossly unfair, arbitrary and erroneous”.

The petitioner under Article 226 of the Constitution sought quashing and setting aside the letter of termination from the PhD programme of IITG issued to the petitioner, for reinstatement of the petitioner in the PhD programme of IIT Guwahati and payment of arrear financial assistance and contingency amount and a direction to pay compensation to the petitioner.

“The decision regarding termination of the petitioner was taken by the senate without even giving the petitioner an opportunity of being heard and neither was the petitioner given an opportunity of being heard at the meeting of the departmental postgraduate programme committee-department of biosciences and bioengineering held on August 8, 2018 wherein the recommendation to terminate him,” the petition said.

Deka also had written to the Prime Minister through the official website of the PMO three times for the allegedly “cruel” and “unending mental harassment” perpetrated by his guide, seeking strict action against his guide so that “no IITian need to endure his suffering in the future”.

In a letter written to the ministry in January 18 last year, Deka had also alleged that his fellowship programme was discontinued after he had raised his voice against the injustice.

IIT officials were unavailable for comment.