The suspension of NIT Rourkela Registrar SK Upadhyaya by Director Prof Sunil Sarangi has led to a deadlock in the institution and threatening to dent its image. The impasse may also hamper funding by the HRD Ministry, says a Professor on condition of anonymity.

Another Professor says the row is now not confined to the Director and the Registrar; rather it has brought the Board of Governors (BoG) Chairperson and the Director into faceoff and at any moment it may snowball into a yet bigger controversy.

But the question is what happened between the Registrar and the Director that made their relation sour though they were working in tandem for more than a decade for the development of the institution.

And, what made the Director to put the Registrar under suspension on charges of insubordination and dereliction of duty without giving any warning.

Another issue is though meanwhile the BoG Chairperson Dr Vasantha Ramaswamy has revoked the suspension order the Director did not honour it.

In the BoG, the Registrar is the secretary and Director is a simple member. So can a member put the secretary under suspension without approval of the BoardIJ As per Section-24 of NIT Act, the appointment authority of the Registrar is the BoG. Then without approval of BoG can he be put under suspensionIJ However, the Director (though he is not the appointing authority of the Registrar) says he can sack the Registrar under Section-26 of NIT statutes.

It may be noted here that challenging the suspension order of the Director, the Registrar prayed the BoG Chairman to revoke it. And finally keeping the revoke order, when the Registrar went to the campus to submit his joining letter on Saturday the security man did not allow him to do at the behest of the Director. Having no other way, he posted the joining letter and a copy submitted at the residence of the Director. The Director in one line replied that BoG Chairperson has no power to revoke the suspension without the approval of the Board members. Now the Registrar has again passed on message to the BoG Chairperson.

Source said NITR Director Sarangi had fallen out with Upadhya over different administrative matters in last one year. A dispute erupted between them when the viva-voice for PhD of faculty BP Nayak was

delayed without any reason despite the senate's approval and Board's instruction. Whatever the reason, the unhealthy situation in NITR due to improper interpretation of NIT Act, statute and ordinances has led to face loss of the institution.