IIT Kharagpur on Tuesday accused a section of teachers of propagating a "collective hateful purpose" and "disrupting the normal academic workflow of the institution" in the name of protest.

The institute, which had earlier showcaused the office-bearers of the teachers' association asking them to substantiate the allegations they had raised in a letter to Union education minister Dharmendra Pradhan, denied the allegations in a statement.

Eighty-five teachers who are members of the association were also showcaused for signing a mass representation to the registrar demanding that the showcause notices to the office-bearers be withdrawn.

"The institute stands firm on its ground nullifying all the allegations. Among the 800+ faculty members, the intent of action of these 85 signatories is questioned in mobilizing a mass representation to threaten the administration, propagating a collective hateful purpose and disrupting the normal academic workflow of the institution without a definitive agenda," the IIT statement said.

The teachers had in a September 20 letter to the minister accused the IIT Kharagpur director of "nepotism", "arbitrary faculty recruitment", "failing to start a medical facility" and "vitiating the relation with campus residents".

The ITT statement came hours after the teachers' association secretariat wrote to the chairman of the institute's board of governors for a second time seeking his intervention because a meeting between the teachers and the administration on Monday failed to end the stalemate, which began on November 12.

The IIT statement said: "The office bearers were asked to provide data/documents in support of their allegation against the administration. The stakeholders of the institute had a positive dialogue with the office bearers of the IITTA after which they were granted a relaxation till 13th December 2024 as requested to provide proper documentation against their allegations which was their actual agenda."

An IIT official said the teachers sought an extension of the deadline to reply to the showcause notices from November 19 till December 26. "The deadline was extended to December 13 after a communication from the board chairman on Monday. We fail to understand why they sought the chairman's intervention again."

The IIT statement said: "Further, the director of the institute advised them (the office-bearers) not to malign the reputation of the Institute of Eminence. This is an academic institution and this type of propaganda and approach should not be encouraged."