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This is an archive article published on June 18, 2016

HRD Ministry asks President to sack Pondicherry V-C Chandra Krishnamurthy

If the proposal is accepted by the Visitor, Krishnamurthy will become the second central university head to be sacked by the NDA government, and in the country’s history.

pondicherry, pondicherry VC, Pondicherry University, Chandra Krishnamurthy, HRD ministry, smriti irani, UGC, pondicherry VN resigns, indian express news, pondicherry university news The documents accessed by The Indian Express reveal that Krishnamurthy plagiarised most of one book mentioned in the CV.(Source: Pondicherry University website)

Armed with a favourable legal opinion, the Human Resource Development Ministry, in its final report sent to the President on Friday, has recommended the sacking of Pondicherry University vice-chancellor Chandra Krishnamurthy for committing academic fraud.

Sources said the government decided to proceed with Krishnamurthy’s dismissal as her resignation was not marked to the right authority.

The Indian Express had reported on November 22, 2014, that Krishnamurthy plagiarised most of one book mentioned in her CV, which also listed two other books that may have never been published at all.

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She was served a show-cause notice by the President on August 21, 2015, after a probe launched by the University Grants Commission (UGC) found her guilty of serious academic frauds, including holding a fake D.Litt degree. She had replied to the President’s notice in April this year, but the government found her response unsatisfactory.

On May 11 this year, she quit the post in anticipation of her sacking, but her resignation letter was addressed to the HRD Ministry instead of President Pranab Mukherjee, who is the Visitor of all central universities. The Centre had asked the V-C to correct this, but she hasn’t replied till date.

Earlier this month, the HRD Ministry approached the Law Ministry for legal opinion on the matter. The latter is learnt to have sent the file back this week endorsing the proposal to remove her.

If the proposal is accepted by the Visitor, Krishnamurthy will become the second central university head to be sacked by the NDA government, and in the country’s history. This Smriti Irani-led HRD Ministry had, in an unprecedented step, removed Visva Bharati V-C Sushanta Dattagupta in February this year on grounds of financial and administrative irregularities.

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Krishnamurthy was appointed Pondicherry University’s first female V-C by the UPA II government in February 2013 and has less than two years left in her term.

The UGC had instituted an inquiry against her halfway through her tenure after an indefinite agitation by a section of students and teachers left the institutions paralysed for days. The protesters were seeking her ouster for alleged autocratic behaviour and mismanagement of university affairs.

The probe, led by former V-C of Punjab University Jai Rup Singh, former bureaucrat Nita Chowdhury and ex-director of Indian Law Institute K N Chandrasekharan Pillai, found that Krishnamurthy had authored only one book against the claim of three in her CV and that she lied about guiding nine PhD students and receiving four research projects. The probe also could not find any evidence to prove she held the rank of professor before becoming Pondicherry V-C.

 

Ritika Chopra, an award-winning journalist with over 17 years of experience, serves as the Chief of the National Bureau (Govt) and National Education Editor at The Indian Express in New Delhi. In her current role, she oversees the newspaper's coverage of government policies and education. Ritika closely tracks the Union Government, focusing on the politically sensitive Election Commission of India and the Education Ministry, and has authored investigative stories that have prompted government responses. Ritika joined The Indian Express in 2015. Previously, she was part of the political bureau at The Economic Times, India’s largest financial daily. Her journalism career began in Kolkata, her birthplace, with the Hindustan Times in 2006 as an intern, before moving to Delhi in 2007. Since then, she has been reporting from the capital on politics, education, social sectors, and the Election Commission of India. ... Read More

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