The principal’s office had sent the notices to Sangeeta Luthra Sharma and Tasneem Suhrawardy—teachers in the History Department—for allegedly indulging in anti-principal talks in the classroom.

Thirty-three of the 55 permanent teachers in the college wrote that the Principal should have discussed the issue with them in person before sending the notices.

The other point of concern among the teachers is “the lack of documentation and substantiation to support the accusation that the teachers were indulging in anti-principal talks in the class”.

“We feel this move has troubled our two esteemed colleagues unnecessarily. It has made many of us in the faculty insecure, and has the potential of harming the teaching-learning atmosphere in the college,” the letter said.

The principal, however, has refused to budge. “It is a matter of opinion whether the principal should have discussed the matter with the teachers,” said Vinod Chowdhury, spokesperson of the college.

“It is true that they have been teaching for many years and are good teachers, but that does not mean that they cannot make mistakes,” Chowdhury said. The teachers have 16 years of experience.

The Delhi University Teachers Association has decided to hold a meeting on January 23 to discuss the issue. “We cannot let his kind of things to happen. We will fight for the freedom of speech in classrooms,” said Aditya Narayan Mishra, president of DUTA.