Lucknow: The Lucknow bench of the Allahabad high court has quashed the dismissal of Prof Mahrukh Mirza, former vice-chancellor of Khwaja Moinuddin Chishti Language University, observing that the charges of using a forged no-objection certificate (NOC) and remaining absent for 75 days were not established by reliable evidence.A bench of Justice Rajeev Singh allowed Mirza’s petition challenging his dismissal order of Mar 10, 2024, the disciplinary committee’s inquiry report of Nov 25, 2023, the executive council’s decision and the supplementary inquiry report of Sep 30, 2021.The court directed the university to reinstate Mirza on the post he had been holding earlier and pay him his salary. However, it held that he would be entitled to only 50% of his salary for the period from Mar 10, 2024, till the date of the judgment. The arrears are to be paid within three months.On the allegation that Mirza had secured his appointment on the basis of a forged NOC from his previous employer, the court found that the charge was not supported by cogent evidence. The alleged signatures were never sent to an expert for verification. The court observed that the disciplinary committee had arrived at its conclusion regarding the NOC merely on the basis of “conjectures and surmises”.On the charge of 75 days’ absence for failure to mark biometric attendance, the court said non-recording of biometric attendance by itself could not establish absence. Mirza had claimed that he was regularly taking classes and that his presence could be verified through CCTV footage. However, the footage was never examined despite the DVR being available in the registrar’s office.The court also noted that several appointments and a promotion questioned during Mirza’s tenure as vice-chancellor were subsequently validated by the university’s executive council or the chancellor. In view of these circumstances, the court found the disciplinary proceedings unsustainable and quashed the dismissal order and the related inquiry reports.
