President gives nod for dismissal of Pondicherry University V-C
Was served showcause notice after UGC panel found her guilty.
File photo of President Pranab Mukherjee
President Pranab Mukherjee has given his nod to the Ministry of Human Resource Development’s proposal to sack Pondicherry University Vice-Chancellor Chandra Krishnamurthy, who faces charges of plagiarism and misrepresentation.
While Krishnamurthy had submitted her resignation earlier, a ministry official said “the resignation is not valid as it is not addressed to the competent authority, which is the Human Resource Development ministry. The ministry raised objection to her submitting the resignation letter to the President, but she didn’t comply. The recommendation to sack her was taken in consultation with the law ministry.”
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The ministry sent the recommendation for her dismissal on June 26. Ministry officials said with the President clearing her dismissal, Krishnamurthy would not be able to take up a job in any government-run university.
Read | Plagiarism to ‘academic fraud’, Pondicherry V-C’s term was mired in controversies
Krishnamurthy was served a showcause notice last August asking why she should not be dismissed after a UGC panel found her guilty of plagiarism and misrepresentation. She was accused of academic fraud amid allegations of holding a fake PhD degree.
She was found to have plagiarised much of her book, in addition to listing two books in her CV which were never published. Soon after, the ministry appointed Anisa B Khan as the officiating Vice-Chancellor.
This is the second time the Smriti Irani-led HRD ministry has dismissed a Vice-Chancellor of a central university. Earlier, Visva Bharati Vice-Chancellor Sushanta Dattagupta was dismissed on charges of financial and administrative irregularities.
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