IIT Kharagpur has told 85 teachers who had been showcaused last week for “being a signatory” to a mass representation seeking revocation of disciplinary proceedings against four office-bearers of the IIT teachers’ association that “no further action” will be taken against them.

However, the institute “reserves the legal right in this matter”, said a notice issued by the registrar late on Friday.

The institute said this after going through the reply to the showcause notice in which the teachers contended they could not be accused of signing the mass petition and what was sent to the registrar to seek revocation was a resolution approved at a meeting of the teachers’ association.

On November 29, the registrar showcaused 85 teachers on charges of signing a mass petition that the IIT authorities construed as teachers “violating “ the institute’s conduct rules.

The registrar’s December 6 notice said: “Therefore the contention raised in your letter that you were not a part of ‘any mass representation’ as violative of statute 15 (17) Schedule B, point 16 (B) stands vitiated. Based on your reply the competent authority hereupon considers the same without any further action whatsoever, while reserving the legal rights in this matter.”

“You are hereby requested to abstain from any activity which is violative of the Statute and/ or service rules of the institute or such other similar acts as may be construed as violative of the above in future.”

The 85 teachers had endorsed a resolution approved at a meeting of the association stating that showcause notices against the office-bearers and the general secretary of the association “be withdrawn immediately” and the disciplinary proceedings be “stopped with immediate effect”.

The four office-bearers were showcaused on November 12 over the association’s letter to the Union education ministry on September 20 alleging nepotism, arbitrary faculty recruitment and other lapses.

The institute, which has denied the allegations, said in a statement on Saturday: “Out of 85 professors, 18 professors have apologized and their cases have been condoned; 62 professors have responded to the show-cause notices on 6th December, 2024. The competent authority has informed them that although their act ‘stands vitiated’, no ‘further action’ is being taken against them while reserving the legal rights in the matter.”