The Supreme Court has ordered the reinstatement of Dalit PhD scholar and Left student leader Ramadas K.S, who was suspended by the Tata Institute of Social Sciences (TISS) in 2024 for alleged misconduct and anti-national activities.
The Bench of Justice Dipankar Datta and Justice Manmohan on Friday further allowed the Dalit scholar to conclude his PhD.
While clarifying that it was not invalidating the suspension, the Apex Court reduced the suspension period to the already undergone till May 1.
In April 2024, TISS had suspended Ramadas from the institute for two years and debarred his entry across all its campuses after he protested in the ‘Parliament march’ in January 2024 under the banner of TISS- PSF(Progressive Students’ Forum), allegedly against the Central government and the BJP, opposing the implementation of the National Education Policy (NEP).
Earlier, the scholar approached the Bombay High Court challenging his suspension.
The High Court rejected his plea, calling the protest politically-motivated. It held that the action taken by TISS was correct on the grounds that Ramadas created an impression that the views expressed in the march represented the views of the institute and that this brought disrepute to the institute.
He then moved the Apex Court.
In 2015, Ramadas first enrolled with the TISS for a Master’s degree in the course Media and Cultural Studies. He was awarded a scholarship from the institute. In 2018, he enrolled in the integrated M.Phil. and Ph.D. course in Development Studies. In 2023, he was awarded a National Fellowship in Scheduled Caste by the Union Ministry of Social Justice in view of his performance in the UGC-NET examination.
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