MUMBAI: Folk rock band Euphoria’s frontman, Dr. Palash Sen is all set to sue IIT Bombay for defamation. The band sent a legal notice to IIT-B and waited for seven days, and is now planning to take the matter to court.
When asked the reason behind sending a notice, Palsh Sen explained, “They blacklisted Euphoria and me without clarifying or asking us about our side of the story. They directly spoke to the press about it, with no statement issued. They did not even have the courtesy of sending us a letter or communicating with us.” He also spoke about how the management asked the organising committee of Mood Indigo to stay out of the matter, and then turned around and went incommunicado. “We are not living in a Banana Republic. This is the law of the land. The court clearly says that you cannot take action against somebody without an inquiry or seeking clarification, definitely not without communication.”
The reports about the blacklisting stated that management had blacklisted the band after receiving two complaints. There are also rumours about the management convincing the other IITs and ex-IITians, who are now Deans of engineering colleges, to boycott Euphoria.
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His lawyer, and sister, Dahlia Sen-Oberoi sent across a legal notice to the director of Indian Institue of Technology, Bombay on 27 December, two days after Professor Yagnik, Student affairs spoke to the press, announcing that the institute has blacklisted the band Euphoria and Palash Sen.
The notice, a copy of which our radioandmusic.com reporter Disha Deshpande possesses, establishes Palash Sen’s attention to the issue of gender equality, among other social issues, and the work he has done to promote the same. It also gives IIT a chance to confirm whether or not Professor Yagnik has the permission and consensus from relevant authorities of IIT-B to be conveying what the institution has decided as a matter of policy, and also to revoke the statement, and send out a public apology clarifying their stance in case Professor Yagnik is not authorised.
The issued legal notice states:
“Please be advised that the decision taken by IIT-B is arbitrary and against all principles of natural justice and equity. Public policy demands that a fair opportunity be given to a party to clarify its stance before any adverse decision is passed against it. Your stance also amounts to defamation of my Client and a violation of his Constitutional and Fundamental Right to free speech and expression, in addition to victimisation and invasion of his privacy.”
IIT-B has been asked to comply with five requisitions; a proper inquiry with Sen where he can convey his point of view so that the two parties may arrive at a reasoned decision, publicly revoking the alleged blacklisting and making a statement that an inquiry has been set up, a public apology be rendered to Sen for making public the decision to blacklist him without giving him the opportunity to explain his position or otherwise following due process, the written policy of the institution to deal with such complaints be shared with Sen and his legal representatives, and a transparent and independent methodology be adopted to deal with the issue at hand.
The lead vocalist confirmed the matter, saying “We sent IIT Bombay a legal notice on 27 December 2013 which they received on the 30-31st. Since it was the New Years, we assumed they would not be working. We gave them three days, extended the period to seven days and now we are going to court on Monday, 13 January 10, 2014.”
“It was a conversation between an artiste and 10,000 students at a rock concert. Everyone enjoyed the show. My point is this. If everyone had such a bad time there and people were getting hurt and offended, why did you not stop the show right then?” said a disappointed Sen. “They took a one-sided, unilateral decision based on a blog. If tomorrow, someone writes a blog about a public figure, does that become the gospel truth? They have humiliated us.”
The singer, after doing 15 concerts for IITs all over the country, landed in trouble on 21 December when an IIT-B student published a blog post, branding Palash Sen’s jokes on stage as sexist comments. But this episode does not seem to have affected his wish to perform at colleges. Ironically, the band will be playing at IIT-BHU in Banaras on 26 January, NMIMS Bangalore on 14 January, 15 January we are playing at the National youth Festival in Ludhiana organised by the Nehru Kendra for 50,000 kids from all over the country.
