CHANDIGARH, Nov 24: Nearly two months after the Vice-Chancellor's son and eight others returned from an academic excursion to Sweden, dark clouds of controversy loom over Panjab University's Law Department."The selection was full of irregularities," alleges PU English Department Professor Dr D.C. Saxena. "It was carefully contrived to include some, leave out some others," he adds.The group left Chandigarh on August 27. Air-fare to Stockholm was borne by the External Affairs Ministry. The European Law Students Association (ELSA) sponsored the two-week stay and members bore the cost of four days in London, three in Paris, and two in Geneva out of their own pockets.Refuting the charge of unfair selection, a member of the selection committee here, Professor V.K. Bansal, insists that the project had the University Syndicate's approval."It is wrong to say that selection committee members were biased toward certain candidates," he asserts. "Several aspects of each candidate's personality, including the ability to speak, academic excellence and the lectures attended were taken into consideration while choosing them".Vice-Chancellor M.M. Puri's son, Shantanu Mohan Puri, (student of the Law Department and member of the tour group) also denies the allegations and admits: "Apprehending allegations, I was initially hesitant to go".Meanwhile, describing himself as "a tax-payer seeking strict accountability," Dr Saxena has written to the Panjab University Teachers' Association president questioning expenses incurred by the Government of India in funding the trip.He wrote: "It may be pertinent to recall that one of the selected students, Shantanu Mohan Puri, lacked academic merit and was admitted through the back-door to the Law Department in the NRI quota".Saxena has asked what objective criterion was followed in making the selection of the students and whether the selection committee was constituted by the father of one of the selected candidates, namely Prof Puri? "If so, will it be wrong to presume if it was a command performance"? he asks. According to sources, the Dean, Students Welfare, was not involved in the selection process.Later, some students opted out when they were reportedly told that they would have to bear the cost of excursions to London, Paris and Geneva which was not part of the original programme. It is charged that the sudden announcement of the additional stops was made to discourage these students so that others could be sent in their place.Says Dr Saxena: "The selected candidates, after the interview, were told to consult their parents regarding travelling in a mixed group. Swedish society is permissive, they were told".Aware of the allegations, ELSA's India coordinator, Parul Sharma states: "This is the worst controversy in the association's history".Professor Bansal, however, insists: "No one can point an accusing finger. The DSW was not involved in the selection process as it was a departmental affair. It is wrong to say the committee was not competent to select candidates as it was comprised of the Law Department's chairman, the Dean of the Law Faculty, besides a senior lady teacher".Denying allegations that certain students opted out due to financial constraints, he states that the trip to "other places" was planned by the students. "It was not binding on them to go. We even offered them direct tickets to Stockholm. Three students opted out because of personal reasons. One was preparing for the civil services, another got married. The third went to Paris for some other course".Insisting that Shantanu Mohan Puri was not undeserving, Prof. Bansal asserts: "We cannot discriminate on the basis of quota. His performance is good, he actively participates in the class and had good academic record".The other students include, Punit Gupta, Kamaljit Singh, Vineeta Sajwan, Anil Chawla, Harpreet Singh, Pooja Bansal, Rohit Kapoor, besides Upasna Mehta.
