JNU Vice Chancellor M Jagadesh Kumar said that in an institution such as JNU, it was “quite natural” that some people might not agree with certain decisions.
Days after it released a chargesheet, the Jawaharlal Nehru University Teachers’ Association (JNUTA) will begin a public hearing against Vice- Chancellor M Jagadesh Kumar from Monday, based on the charges framed against him. The charges against him include violating statutory provisions, harassing teachers and promoting authoritarianism. It will be a public hearing. However, Kumar will not be present. The V-C had been given time till October 20 to respond to the charges, following which the JNUTA said it will hold a public hearing against him.
“The JNUTA public inquiry against the V-C is a mode of protest modelled on an official inquiry, but deriving its legitimacy not from powers vested in any statutory authority but by being an expression of the collective sentiment of teachers of JNU,” the JNUTA statement said.
After the hearing, JNUTA will bring out in public domain a comprehensive picture of the severe damage being done to a public institution by its current administration under the leadership of Kumar. In each hearing, a group of teachers will present, before a panel of public figures drawn from different walks of life, their case on the charges listed in the chargesheet. Oral presentation of the case will accompany a written submission with enclosures of relevant documents.
On behalf of the V-C, a ‘defence’ will also be presented even if he or his designated representative is absent. At the end of each day’s proceedings, panelists will give their preliminary observations and will also be requested to follow it up with a written note articulating their ‘verdict’ on the charges.
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