New Delhi: The HRD ministry has written to the housing and urban affairs ministry seeking its intervention in the row over the name of a Metro station outside the IIT-Delhi campus. The engineering institute has objected to the Delhi Metro Rail Corporation selling the branding rights of the IIT Metro station to FIITJEE and moved court last month.

"The naming of the Metro station is giving the false impression that it is coaching engineering aspirants in association with IIT-Delhi and we have asked the housing and urban affairs ministry to ensure that the public is not misled," a HRD ministry official said.

A senior DMRC official said: "The matter is sub judice, so we will not comment at the moment."

Delhi High Court had sought the response of the DMRC on a plea by IIT-Delhi against coupling of its name with FIITJEE at the Metro station near the engineering institute.

Justice Rajiv Shakdher, before whom the matter came up for hearing, had issued notices to the DMRC and FIITJEE and sought their stand on the IIT's plea that the "co-branding" had misled people to think that both had partnered.

In its plea the IIT has sought directions to the Delhi Metro to not use its name in conjunction with that of FIITJEE, claiming it is tarnishing the image of the premier engineering institute.

The DMRC said in a statement: "It had not done anything illegal in the matter."

The IIT station comes under the recently opened Kalkaji Mandir-Janakpuri West corridor of the Magenta Line, and falls in the busy south Delhi area. PTI