Ahmedabad:
The Gujarat high court has upheld the punishment meted out to a hearing-impaired student of Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) Gandhinagar for plagiarism and cheating in an exam.
Though the HC upheld the punishment set by the institute, it also gave hims some “draught” by asking the ministry of human resource development to shift him from IITGn to IIT, Mumbai, in his home town, at the student’s request.
The case involves second-year BTech student Aditya Tare, who has 64% hearing impairment but is a very good tennis player. He was suspended for two semesters and awarded rigorous social service and community work for six months. This punishment was meted out to him twice in one year’s time, first for plagiarism, as he copied some text in his philosophy assignment from sources on the internet in December 2017 and for the second time in November 2018 after he was caught cheating in an examination.
Tare accepted the punishment for plagiarism but challenged the punishment in the cheating case. After hearing the case, Justice J B Pardiwala deliberated on whether a court should interfere in the decision taken by academicians and educationists. Citing numerous judgments, he said, “I have reached the conclusion that I should not be wiser than the academicians and educationists…The authorities of the institute are responsible for maintenance of discipline in the institute. Such authority, being responsible for the welfare of the student, is the best judge…”
The court said, “The punishment imposed by the institute is not the end of his life. This is an eye opener for the writ applicant. In this type of matters, it would not be proper or even in accordance with law to show mercy or take a sympathetic view of the matter.”
However, the student did not leave the court disheartened. He requested for a transfer of college. Considering the pressure of studies and his hearing impairment, the HC said, “I am of the view that if he remains close to his family, then the family can keep a watch on his movements and problems including his studies.” The court quoted the famous 19th century novelist, George Eliot, “More helpful than all wisdom or counsel is on draught of simple human pity that will not forsake us.” For Tare, this draught came from the high court, which directed IITGn and the Centre to sympathetically consider his request to transfer him to IIT, Mumbai. “Some humane approach is necessary for the purpose of taking such kind of decision. If the writ applicant (Tare) goes back to his home, probably, it could be achanging point or a major turn in his life,” the court said.
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