President accepts IIT-D director's resignation

Indian Institute of Technology-Delhi (IIT-D) Director Raghunath K Sheogaonkar has been relieved of his duties six months after he resigned from the post.

President Pranab Mukherjee on Thursday approved Sheogaonkar’s resignation on the recommendation of the Human Resource Development (HRD) Ministry, IIT-D sources told Deccan Herald.

The ministry had forwarded his resignation along with its recommendation for the consideration of the President on Wednesday.

Senior IIT-D faculty K Gupta has already been appointed by the HRD Ministry as interim director of the institute on the recommendation of its board of governors.

Sheogaonkar resigned as director of the institute halfway through his term in December last year amid reports that he was humiliated by HRD Minister Smriti Irani for not clearing the arrears of former faculty and now BJP leader Subramanian Swamy.

The minister was also reportedly upset with him for not letting cricketer Vijay Dahiya open a centre of excellence for cricket on the IIT-D campus, said institute sources.

IIT faculties had tried to persuade Sheogaonkar to withdraw his resignation, but he remained adamant and expressed his desire to go back to IIT-Bombay as faculty. 

As the HRD Ministry did not take any decision on his resignation, Sheogaonkar sent a reminder to it this April, requesting that he be relieved of his duties from the date of his reminder so he could join IIT-B.