The Delhi High Court stated on July 11 during the hearing of a petition brought by Professor Sabiha Hussain, the director of the Sarojini Naidu Center, which is a part of Jamia Millia Islamia University, that the university could not use the court’s protection to obtain funding from the University Grants Commission (UGC) for salary payments. In order to ensure that JMI received her wage, Hussain petitioned the Delhi High Court.

A Division Bench headed by Chief Justice Satish Chandra Sharma and Justice Subramonium Prasad denied the request made by JMI to direct the UGC to grant money for the Sarojini Naidu Centre for Women Studies. The Court observed that Jamia’s argument was only an effort to circumvent directions issued by the High Court.

JMI claimed in its complaint that the University was unable to pay Hussain’s salary because the UGC had not allocated the requisite funding under the “Development of Women Studies in Indian Universities” scheme or a regular budget. JMI asked the court to order the release of roughly Rs 6 crores worth of cash by the Commission.

The University’s attorney responded that the Vice-Chancellor, Registrar, and other officials had received their pay when the Court asked about it. In order to pay the professor’s salary, CJ Sharma suggested that the university either sell its properties or that the vice-chancellor and registrar forgo their salaries.

Notably, Jamia had explicitly asserted during the previous hearing that the University would pay Hussain’s debt and that she would receive payment on schedule each month.

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