Archive · 10 Dec 2025
Gujarat High Court Quashes IIM-A Expulsion of Three PhD Students
The Gujarat High Court has canceled the decision of the Indian Institute of Management, Ahmedabad (IIM-A) to remove three PhD students from their program.
The students were expelled because they did not meet the requirements to move to the second year.
The court said that the expulsion was not done correctly according to the rules.
The students argued that they were not given a fair chance to explain their situation and that the rules should have been followed more flexibly.
The court agreed and said that the students should have been given more opportunities to improve.
The institute argued that they followed all the rules, but the court did not agree with them.
The Gujarat High Court quashed IIM-A's decision to expel three PhD students for not meeting promotion conditions.
The court found the expulsion decision not in line with the DPM Manual and without legal authority.
The students argued that they were not given a fair process and that the rules should have been applied more leniently.
The institute claimed they followed all procedures and gave the students a chance to explain.
The court emphasized that the program is designed to give students multiple opportunities to succeed.
- Who
- Three PhD students: Abhilasha Ashok Kumar, Atul Gupta, Uthara P K
- What
- Gujarat High Court quashed IIM-A's decision to expel the students
- When
- Order made available online on December 9, 2025
- Where
- Gujarat High Court, India
- Why
- The court found the expulsion decision not in consonance with the DPM Manual and without legal authority
- Court
- Gujarat High Court
- Institute
- Indian Institute of Management, Ahmedabad (IIM-A)
- Program
- Doctoral Programme in Management (DPM)
- Students Expelled
- Abhilasha Ashok Kumar, Atul Gupta, Uthara P K
- Date of Expulsion
- June 7, 2025
- Date of Court Order
- December 9 (order made available online)
- Grounds for Challenge
- Non-compliance with natural justice, failure to follow procedure, violation of legitimate expectation, conflict of interest
- Court's Observation
- Decision not in consonance with DPM Manual, action without authority of law