Dehradun: Uttarakhand high court on Monday questioned the director of GB Pant Institute of Engineering and Technology (GBPIET), Pauri Garhwal, over allegations that he prevented a professor from signing the attendance register. A division bench of Justice Ravindra Maithani and Justice Alok Mahra was hearing a plea by professor Yashvir Singh, who alleged that despite official orders, he was not being permitted to discharge his duties. “These are very serious issues,” the bench observed.In May 2023, the vice-chairman of GBPIET’s board of governors had attached Singh to Bipin Tripathi Kumaon Institute of Technology (BTKIT), Dwarahat, Almora. That order was withdrawn on July 1, 2024, directing him to rejoin GBPIET. Singh said he complied, but the GBPIET director refused to let him sign the attendance register and made adverse endorsements against his name.

The bench referred to a communication from the higher education secretary directing the director to allow the professor to rejoin and process his salary. “Why is the director defying the orders of the superior authority? Under what authority is he making endorsements in the attendance register against the petitioner’s name?” the court asked and ordered the director to clarify under which provisions of the law he acted in defiance of state govt instructions.

Meanwhile, the director’s counsel informed the court that Singh would be allowed to join the institute from Wednesday.