Visva-Bharati row: HRD ministry re-sends file recommending sacking of V-C to President

Last week, Dattagupta emailed his resignation to President Pranab Mukherjee, a few days after the government made damning observations about his conduct as the head of the institute. He was appointed the Visva Bharati’s V-C in 2011 by the UPA-II government and still had a year left in his tenure.

Though the existing laws relating to central universities do not provide for sacking of a vice-chancellor, the President can invoke section 16 of the General Clauses Act, 1987, to remove him. The Act empowers the appointing authority to suspend or dismiss any person appointed under a central act or regulation.

Meanwhile, the President on Friday turned down the appointment of former ISRO Chief K Kasturirangan to the search panel for a new vice-chancellor for Delhi University, which has been asked to send a nomination to replace him.

The directive comes after the ministry sent a file to the President requesting him to send the varsity’s current V-C, Dinesh Singh, on “compulsory leave” as he had “deliberately” appointed Kasturirangan, an honourary DU professor, to the panel to select his successor, causing a conflict of interest.