The Bombay high court declined to interfere in the suspension case of Indranil Bhattacharya, faculty member of the Film & Television Institute of India (FTII). Bhattacharya was issued a suspension order on disciplinary grounds including for an anti-government post on Facebook. He was issued three showcause notices before the suspension order. He moved the high court to quash and set aside the suspension order.
A bench of Justices Satyaranjan Dharmadhikari and Gautam Patel, in its order, said that those in government employment cannot criticise the polices and programmes of the government or its functionaries. The judges said, Bhattacharya would get subsistence allowance but they refused to quash the suspension. The bench, therefore, admitted the petition. It granted Indranil liberty to apply for interim relief, including lifting of the suspension but after the chargesheet was served and an inquiry officer was appointed.