The Hindu College Staff Association (HCSA) on Thursday condemned the college governing body’s decision to issue show-cause notices to three staff members.

The notices come against the backdrop of a controversy over admissions under the extracurricular activities and sports categories. At a meeting in August, the association alleged excess admissions and accused the principal of playing a dubious role in facilitating those.

The HCSA said three members, including its president Ratan Lal and secretary Shankar Kumar, were served show-cause notices even as they were “legitimately representing the collective and unanimous mandate of HCSA meetings”.

The show-cause notices alleged that the teachers violated the code of conduct, and sent e-mails to faculty members that contained derogatory and offensive characterisations of fellow faculty members.

The HCSA saw the show-cause notices as an attempt to “strip the association and its executives of their identity and legitimacy” in the college’s functioning.

Principal Anju Srivastava said the decision to issue the show-cause notices was taken in view of the “derogatory e-mail” sent by the staff members. Responding to the allegation that it is stripping the HCSA of legitimacy, she added, “It is a show-cause notice, not disciplinary action. The governing body just wanted to know what prompted them to take such an action.”