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Sambhar Mafia - Cooked To Kill!

Thursday, October 13, 2005

Big Fight - NDTV to cover IIPM fracas tonight

Alaphia informs us that NDTV 24x7 will cover the IIPM fracas in its Mumbai Live program tonight (Oct 13). She adds that the IIPM people are not co-operating much with the NDTV Delhi correspondent. NDTV site also has an article about this issue -
Full-page advertisements by the Indian Institute of Planning and Management (IIPM) in all national dailies asked students to "dare to dream beyond the IIMs". If one went by the ads, one could be forgiven for thinking that IIPM is the institute with the best possible infrastructure, faculty, and placements in the country.

Comments against the Delhi - based high profile institute by Gaurav Sabnis cost him his job at IBM. Gaurav, who was a sales executive at IBM, was airing what he says are his personal opinion on his own diary on the Internet, also called a blog.

At any rate much of what he said drew from an article that appeared in a youth magazine called JAM, which had investigated what it says were false claims made by IIPM in its ads.IIPM, which is headed by management consultant Arindam Choudhry, acted against both the magazine and Sabnis, sending both legal notices.But when that did not work they put pressure on Gaurav's employers IBM - saying they would burn the IBM laptops they use on their campus. IBM last year sold 1,500 laptops to IIPM . That pressure, Gaurav says, led him to quit. "I quit because it was putting unnecessary pressure on IBM," he adds.

But Gaurav' resignation and IIPM's threat of legal action has sparked off a cyber war. The otherwise unseen world of bloggers in India and across the world began posting their support for Gaurav, arguing that a blog is someone's personal view and suing them makes no sense. In response, blogs also suddenly appeared in defense of IIPM.This is a fascinating story, which has not just raised questions about claims made by private educational institutions but also about laws governing internet privacy.

Update 1: NDTV carried the report only today (Oct 14). Amit Varma sums up what was mentioned in the NDTV report.

Update 2: My cousin SMSed me from Chennai to say that my blog was also shown in the NDTV report.


Crossposted on DesiPundit

posted by Kaps at 6:26 PM

10 Comments:

  • Kaps,

    I tried accessing both Rashmi's and Gaurav's blog today, but it wasn't accessible... Any idea what happened?

    By Blogger Peak Day Blues, at 8:20 PM  

  • I really think its time we bring pressure on them by each one of us sending them an email of protest.

    The least we should ask them is to publish the basis of their tall claims.

    These are some of the email addresses that can be used (taken from their website)

    ICPAR@IIPM.edu
    (The email address for their public relations department)

    Other email addresses:
    Admissions@IIPM.edu
    ICPAR@IIPM.edu
    CCISD@IIPM.edu
    DeanAcademics@IIPM.edu
    Alumni@IIPM.edu
    Query@IIPM.edu
    WebMaster@IIPM.edu
    Placements@IIPM.edu

    Note: These addresses were taken from the IIPM website. This constitutes public information. Pretest in the form of emails is peaceful and this comment does not amount to incitement of violence under law (I think).

    By Blogger nmk, at 2:18 AM  

  • Pretest in the last post should read PROTEST.

    By Blogger nmk, at 2:19 AM  

  • Kaps you are doing a wonderful job on this man.

    By Blogger Ganesh, at 2:36 AM  

  • These are the legal summons (so called) which IIPM sent out. I didnt know that India had gone high tech enough to allow for e-summons. The summons are hilarious and a must read for someone who has not as yet read them.

    so here goes.

    _______________________
    From: Legal Cell, IIPM
    Date: Oct 4, 2005 4:03 PM
    Subject: Notarized first notice of legal summons
    To: gaurav.sabnis@gmail.com
    Cc: legal@iipm.edu



    First Notice of legal summons to you
    Warning: This email has been judicially notarized and has been tagged to validate receipt and response




    Notice: IIPM/DZI1/2005/44

    Date: 4th October 2005

    Subject: False articles released by you on IIPM on blogspot.com (reference blogger.com)



    I am the head of the legal and compliance counsel at The Indian Institute of Planning & Management (IIPM) New Delhi, India.



    This notice is with respect to your releasing totally false articles about IIPM on the website blogspot.com (reference blogger.com) that has your clear reference and that has been released by you with proven deliberate and fraudulent intentions to harm the image of IIPM and related businesses. The articles have caused unfathomable damage to the reputation of IIPM and to its various operational areas. The articles further have affected innumerable future operations of IIPM. We have legally notarized and logged all the releases and are sending you this email to you as the first notice of proposed legal, judicial and criminal action against you that has already been approved & cleared by the Post Graduate Fellow Programme committee at IIPM. Even though the damage caused by your deliberate and fraudulent intentions cannot be calculated, the proposed filing would involve an immediate damage claim from you of Rs.125 Crores; apart from other various losses (including, but not restricted to opportunity losses, sales losses, legal costs and associated expenses). Corollary claims and subsequent parallel criminal and civil actions are being notified further on.



    We are also providing your details to respective national and regional police authorities for undertaking and implementing immediate arrest warrants against you. We are also providing your details to various corporations within India and abroad to inform them about the judicial, legal and police action against you; thus ensuring that your details are well documented.




    However, in case you undertake the following actions immediately, and provide evidence of such actions being completed by October 8th 2005, we shall formally withhold the abovementioned proceedings against you:



    1. Immediately remove all articles related to IIPM from all domains under your purview, including but not restricted to the domains blogspot.com and blogger.com.

    2. Immediately notify all your affiliate partners and other relevant websites to remove any links to any news of IIPM that they have received from you. You have to also ensure that these websites follow instructions as you would be held responsible for any continued display of the abovementioned item in question and future unapproved references to IIPM of any kind in any type of a media vehicle.

    3. Immediately release an apology notice (after getting the text approved from our offices) on all domains under your authority that clearly mentions that you had mistakenly released the article and are withdrawing the same unconditionally. The same should also be sent to us.

    4. Refrain in the future from releasing any news item containing IIPM's reference without the prior explicit written approval of IIPM.



    Be warned, your telephone numbers, physical addresses thereon, login details, network access mechanisms have all been documented, notarized and legally ratified through google and blogspot.com, thus ensuring that any arrest warrants can be served and implemented on you within one day.



    Your formal response shall be expected by the 12 noon (Indian Standard Time) of 6th October 2005 ; failing which, we shall proceed with the parallel arrest proceedings against you.



    Regards,

    A.Saxena
    -----------------------------------------------------
    President, Legal and Compliance Cell
    The Indian Institute of Planning & Management
    Level 0, IIPM Tower 1
    B-27, Qutab Institutional Area
    New Delhi - 110016, India
    Phone: +91-11-51799900; Fax: +91-11-51799911
    Email: legal@iipm.edu

    ====================

    I really think IIPM should go on the web and look up the definition of libel and slander:

    http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Slander_and_libel

    By Blogger nmk, at 2:45 AM  

  • Or better still, instead of sending letters of protest to IIPM, we should be sending emails to the editors of Indian newspapers.

    Its high time the indian MSM acted their role of a check and balance in a democracy.

    By Blogger nmk, at 2:59 AM  

  • This is something all other channels should do too! IIPM and its sick supporters - those who sold their minds and ethics - should realise that its bloggers and journos who still stand for truth and rights even today!

    By Blogger Naresh, at 3:48 AM  

  • How about IIPM concentrate on increasing the quality of the education they impart instead of indulging in bullying? This is what education has come down to ....

    By Blogger Mousepad Marauder, at 4:15 AM  

  • I am some how not happy with the coverage done by the media. None of them seem to be supporting our cause. Some of them are actually indirectly are showing us on the wrong side. They are taking views from lawyers...and these lawyers simply say that "rules should be made for blogging"....WTF !!!!!

    By Anonymous Anonymous, at 2:02 PM  

  • The IIPM studentx or whatever say you wouldnt get admission into IIPM.What is that
    1)A threat?
    2)A fact?
    3)A blessing?
    4)All of the above

    Man,from the quality of their comments they seem to be really the dregs of the student population of the country.

    By Blogger The Bangalore Torpedo, at 5:04 PM  

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