NEW DELHI: A day after the Delhi University Teachers’ Association (DUTA) called for an immediate review of an exam paper at Jamia Millia Islamia University (JMI), the Jawaharlal Nehru University Teachers’ Association (JNUTA) on Thursday strongly condemned the suspension of Virendra Balaji Sahare, a professor in JMI’s Department of Social Work.

Calling the action “illegal, arbitrary and an unacceptable policing of academic thought”, the JNUTA said the Jamia Vice-Chancellor’s decision to suspend Sahare over alleged “negligence and carelessness” in setting a question paper was not supported by statutory provisions. Sahare was the paper setter for the BA (Hons) Social Work semester exam titled Social Problems in India.

The association said the suspension invoked Statute 37(1), applicable only in cases of misconduct. Citing SC rulings, it argued that negligence does not constitute misconduct.