IIT Delhi moves High Court over Metro station being named ‘FIITJEE IIT’
It argued that the name of the private coaching institute coupled with that of the institution would mislead people and create a conflict of interest.
The Indian Institute of Technology Delhi has approached the Delhi High Court over the naming of the Metro station located close to the institution as FIITJEE IIT Metro station, reported The Indian Express on Monday. IIT Delhi argued that the name would mislead people and “tarnish the image” of the institute.
FIITJEE, a private coaching institute, is the sponsor of the Metro station opposite IIT Delhi. Sign boards installed at the station have “FIITJEE IIT’ on it, coupling the two names. The Delhi Metro Rail Corporation has been allocating naming rights over stations to sponsors to earn revenue since 2014, reported Hindustan Times.
IIT Delhi Director V Ramgopal Rao told The Indian Express that he received mails from alumni expressing concerns over the move. “The station is inside IIT Delhi, we gave land to DMRC and it is being named after FIITJEE, a private coaching institute,” he said, adding that this would create “a direct conflict of interest”. “People are getting misled by the signage, thinking we have a contract with them.”
The institution wanted the DMRC to either revoke the permission granted to FIITJEE or remove the name of the Metro station at the Safdarjung Development Area, reported The Times of India. Rao said the institution had approached DMRC, but they were told that the contract had already been given. DMRC said IIT would have to compensate FIITJEE if the contract was breached. “Why should we pay?” said Rao, according to The Indian Express.
On Friday, Justice Rajiv Shakdher sought a response from DMRC and FIITJEE seeking their response to the matters raised by IIT Delhi.
The institution has also taken up the matter with DMRC, Ministry of Human Resource Development and Ministry of Urban Development.
Spokesperson for DMRC Anuj Dayal said it has not done anything “illegal”. “Since the matter is [in court], we shall suitably reply in court after examining in detail the issues raised by them,” he told Hindustan Times.