- (1.) These seven petitions have been filed by petitioners assailing the impugned cancellation of their appointments as faculties to the posts of Professors/Associate/Assistant Professors under the impugned resolution of the Board of the Indian Institute of Information Technology, Allahabad contending that they are victims of unmixed disadvantage on account of a hasty decision which according to the petitioners is out of deference to the decisions taken during the tenure of the previous Director, and that their hopes were frustrated because of such a decision which is neither sustainable in law nor on facts. Their contention is that with the change of guard the respondent-Institute is reordering its priorities without following the correct position of law. The respondent-Institute through its present set of authorities defends itself by contending that selections were against rules and of ineligible candidates that was an outcome of the motivated influence exercised by the earlier Director to favour the petitioners and therefore the cancellation of such appointments was obvious and was after due deliberations without any premeditation of any malice or revenge. The deliberations were carried out dispassionately and the consequences thereof were unintended and are a natural outcome of the facts that are on record.
(2.) Sri Shashi Nandan, learned senior counsel, Sri Rajeev Misra, Sri R.P. Tewari, Ms. A. Gaur, Sri Nimai Das Advocates have been heard for the petitioners. Sri U.N. Sharma and Sri Vipin Sinha, learned senior counsel assisted by Sri Vaibhav Kaushik, Sri Anil Tewari have been heard for the Institute and Sri Trilok Singh for the Union of India and Sri R.A. Akhtar for the U.G.C. have advanced their submissions.
(3.) The Government of India, in the wake of a growing continuing demand of the application of information technology in every sphere of life, came up with a scheme for setting up Universities and Institutions of Information Technology throughout the country, and one such Institute was proposed at Allahabad which is now known as the 'Indian Institute of Information Technology Allahabad Society'. The need to set up such an Institute on account of unprecedented technical break through was realised, and the proposal was initiated with letters dispatched by the Ministry of Human Resource Development, Department of Education, Government of India, to convene a meeting for consideration of setting up of such an Institute vide letter dated 17.12.1998.;