Kerala: Sacked lecturer mulls legal action

"He still believes that the college authorities will withdraw the termination order. However, if that does not happen, we will be forced to go to court," Stella, Professor Joseph's sister, told PTI.

On Saturday, the college authorities informed the professor about their decision to terminate him after 25 years of service, said Stella.

The All Kerala Private College Management Association office bearers met him on Sunday and extended their support, she said.

Stella said her brother had not made any derogatory references to Prophet Mohammed in the said passage of the question paper, but had only named a character as Mohammed. The passage was from the book of writer and film director P T Kunhumuhammed and his name had been used as a shortened version for the character, she said.

Meanwhile, the Syro Malabar church on Sunday said it was firm that it would not allow anybody to use its institutions to 'malign' the religious sentiments of other communities.

"By punishing the teacher, the church has given a clear message to the community at large that it will not permit any individual, even a Christian, to wound the feelings of any other community," Church spokesperson Father Paul Thelekat told PTI.

"The activists of the radical outfit Popular Front of India which carried out the attack against the lecturer should also be punished. Nobody can take the law into their hands," he said.

Social activist Swami Agnivesh described the attack against Professor Joseph as 'typically fundamental terror'.

"But greater shame is that his college has terminated him from service. Such managements are playing into the hands of fundamentalists," he said, adding that the college management should apologise and take him back into service.

Professor Joseph was brutally attacked on July 4 allegedly by PFI activists. His right hand was hacked off for preparing a question paper which allegedly hurt the sentiments of the Muslim community. The lecturer was informed on Saturday that he had been terminated from service from September 1.