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CCA principal row: Charge withdrawn from Bagga for fair inquiry, Chandigarh tells CAT
Inquiry underway into numerous complaints against Bagga from higher-level offices of PMO, administrator and other faculty members, submits Chandigarh administration
For fair and impartial inquiry into the serious complaints received against her, the additional charge of principal, Chandigarh College of Architecture, was withdrawn from Sangeeta Bagga, the UT administration has submitted in its reply before the Central Administrative Tribunal (CAT).
Bagga misrepresented and suppressed facts in her application, UT contended in reply to Bagga’s plea that has challenged its July 19 decision of assigning the charge of principal to UT chief architect Kapil Setia on interim basis.
Working as a professor since April 22, 2014, Bagga got the additional charge of CCA principal in September 2017. But it was taken away in July.
Acting on Bagga’s plea, CAT on July 22 had stayed UT’s decision and directed that she be allowed to continue as principal of the college.
Submitting UT’s response, advocate Gagandeep Singh Wasu stated the Bagga had approached the tribunal with “unclean” hands. The administration had only assigned the additional charge in 2017, which cannot be claimed as a matter of right and could be assigned to any other person. Her claim to continue to work as principal was not legally sustainable, especially when her work and conduct was found to be not satisfactory, the tribunal was informed.
UT stated that numerous complaints had been received against Bagga from higher-level offices of PMO, administrator and other faculty members. The entire teaching and working atmosphere of the college was jeopardised, vitiated and compromised due to her conduct.
An inquiry was also marked to the UT home secretary in July 22 and during the pendency of an inquiry, the delinquent official should normally be ordered to be suspended, so that witnesses were not pressurised, it was submitted.
The reply further mentioned that looking at the seriousness of all complaints and for fair and impartial inquiry, the additional charge of principal had been withdrawn. However, she had not been put under suspension yet.
‘Setia rightly assigned charge’
To the allegations that Kapil Setia was neither holding a PhD nor having any teaching experience to his credit, UT stated that Setia had been rightly assigned the impugned temporary charge.
“It is not necessary to hold a PhD or have teaching experience to one’s credit. Kapil Setia has been rightly given the additional charge of principal since he possesses BArch degree, has more than 20 years of professional experience and also possesses rich experience in administration,” it submitted.
The reply added that the administration was in the process of finalising the college’s recruitment rules.
Stating that the application was a gross abuse of process of law and had been filed on legally untenable grounds, UT sought vacation of CAT’s July 22 order. On this, the tribunal asked Bagga to file a response.
