HRD ministry’s attempt to force Delhi University Vice Chancellor Dinesh Singh to go on compulsory leave just days before his retirement failed as President Pranab Mukherjee refused to approve its recommendation to that effect.
Prompted to take action on the Vice Chancellor for going against the rules and nominating an honorary professor of the varsity to the panel to pick his successor, the ministry on Wednesday recommended to the President to keep Singh on “compulsory wait (on leave until further orders)”, a disgrace for someone occupying a prestigious position.
Hours later though, the ministry was forced to retract the recommendation as the President reportedly not convinced that such an action should be taken against Singh since he had barely 29 days to complete his five-year tenure as DU Vice Chancellor.
In May, DU’s executive council appointed K Kasturirangan to the search and selection committee to find the next Vice Chancellor despite the former ISRO chairman was nominated honorary professor at the varsity by Singh.
The appointment is against the rules that exclude persons associated with the university from the process of selecting its Vice Chancellor, the ministry construed as Singh’s way to derail the process.
“How could Kasturirangan be nominated to the panel when was an honorary professor at the university. The rules do not allow it,” an official said.
Speaking to a news agency, however, Singh maintained that Kasturirangan’s appointment to the search cum selection committee would have been an “oversight”.
“The nomination of the members was discussed at length in the DU's Executive Council. Somehow it (conflict of interest) seems to have escaped the attention of the Council and I don't really know until I hear from the ministry what is the exact issue," the agency quoted Singh as saying.