Point of law: Special will always override the general. IIT Statutes is special and CCS (CCA) Rules are the general rules here. In the present case, the Rules governing the disciplinary proceedings and punishment are given in the Statutes and the resolution of the Board of Governors. There is no ambiguity here which may compel us to fall back upon the CCS (CCA) Rules.

JUDGMENT :

Sudhanshu Dhulia, J.

Heard Mr. K.N. Chowdhury, learned senior counsel for the appellant. Also heard Mr. A.B. Dey, learned Standing Counsel, IIT for the respondents.

2. This is a writ appeal filed by the appellant/writ petitioner challenging the order dated 01.11.2019 passed by the learned Single Judge in WP(C) No. 7478/2019.

3. The material facts for our consideration are that the appellant/writ petitioner before this Court is an Assistant Professor in the Indian Institute of Technology Guwahati (for short hereinafter referred to as “IIT”), Guwahati, who is presently facing a disciplinary proceeding. The reason for him to approach this Court by means of the writ petition was that he had questioned the authority of the Director of the IIT for initiating the disciplinary proceedings. His case was that only the appointing authority, which admittedly in his case was the Board of Governors of the Institute, was authorized to initiate the disciplinary proceedings against him and since the admitted position is that the disciplinary proceedings have been initiated by an authority which is subordinate to the Board of Governors, which in this case is the Director of the Institute, it is in violation of the law and this procedure adopted by the Institute also deprives the appellant/writ petitioner from the protection given to him under Clause (1) and (2) of Article 311 of the Constitution of India. The Rules which the appellant/writ petitioner had invoked in his favour are the Central Civil Services (Classification, Control and Appeal) Rules, 1965 [for short, hereinafter referred to as the ‘CCS(CCA) Rules’] and he would argue that initiation of the disciplinary proceedings against him is in violation of the same.

4. Before we come down to the procedure adopted by the Institute against the appellant/writ petitioner and the procedural and substantive law which is presently applicable in this case, we would refer to the facts which are material for our consideration.

5. The appellant/writ petitioner, as already referred above, is an Assistant Professor in IIT, Guwahati. IIT, Guwahati is an institute of national importance. The first such institute came into existence by virtue of an Act of Parliament known as the Institutes of Technology Act, 1961, which is an Act to declare certain institutions of technology to be institutions of national importance. This was the Indian Institute of Technology Kharagpur. Other IITs joined in the process later. These are all institutes of national importance.

6. In the Institute i.e., IIT, Guwahati an incident took place on 02.08.2019 which involves the present writ appellant. It is alleged by the authorities that on the said date i.e., 02.08.2019, while the appellant/writ petitioner, who is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Electronics & Electrical Engineering, was taking a class in Classroom No.2002 and had overshot the period of time allotted to him, Dr. Gaurav Trivedi, Associate Professor, who was supposed to take the next class, came inside the classroom and thereafter an altercation took place between the two. It is further alleged that there was a scuffle and fight between the two which was somehow stopped due to the intervention of the students of the class. Subsequent to the said incident, cross FIRs were lodged in the nearest police station, which were registered as North Guwahati P.S. Case No. 105/2019 u/s 294/323/506 IPC and North Guwahati P.S. Case No. 106/2019 u/s 341/294/506 IPC. On the same day i.e., 02.08.2019, a preliminary inquiry committee consisting of Prof. Chitralekha Mahanta as Chairman and Prof. S. V. Rao as Member, was constituted to investigate the matter. This was also communicated by the interim Registrar to the concerned parties, namely, the appellant/writ petitioner and Dr. Gaurav Trivedi. The preliminary inquiry committee submitted its report on 05.08.2019.

7. Based on the report of the preliminary inquiry committee, the Director of the Institute vide Memorandum