DU Panel says St Stephen’s College ‘violated’ faculty recruitment norms, flags shortlisting irregularities

A committee constituted by the University of Delhi has concluded that St Stephen’s College violated the university-approved shortlisting criteria while recruiting assistant professors in 2025-26. The committee has recommended that the college follow the university’s recruitment rules and regulations to ensure uniformity and consistency in faculty appointments.

According to the committee’s report, the college did not disclose its shortlisting criteria and evaluation methodology before completing the screening process. The report also flagged a reduction in the minimum academic score for shortlisting candidates in the philosophy department from 55 to 50 and differences between the university’s prescribed recruitment procedure and the college’s selection process.

The report, signed by committee members and chaired by Inder Mohan Kapahy, was prepared after examining documents related to the recruitment process, including the college’s notices, correspondence with the university and departmental selection records.

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DU committee questions shortlisting criteria

The University of Delhi’s Executive Council, at its meeting on April 29, 2026, took note of concerns that the shortlisting criteria adopted by St Stephen’s College for Assistant Professor appointments violated the criteria approved by the university’s Academic Council and Executive Council.

Following the deliberations, the university registrar wrote to the college principal, advising the college to refrain from issuing appointment letters. A committee was constituted to examine the matter.

The committee held online meetings on May 7 and May 29, 2026. It sought details of the shortlisting criteria, the list of shortlisted candidates and their Academic Performance Indicator (API) scores, along with reasons for not following the university-approved criteria.

The committee said the college did not respond to its requests for the required information by the time of the report.

Committee flags delayed disclosure of criteria

The report noted that St Stephen’s College advertised assistant professor vacancies on July 19, 2025. The application deadline was subsequently extended from August 2 to August 9, 2025.

However, the advertisement did not specify the shortlisting criteria, the distribution of marks or the evaluation methodology for assessing candidates, the committee said.

The college uploaded screening notices on August 11, 2025, but the criteria for the essay, presentation and interview stages remained undisclosed. According to the report, the screening process awarded marks for research publications, including publications in peer-reviewed or UGC-listed journals, which the committee said was contrary to the university’s prescribed standard operating procedure.

The report stated that the college disclosed the shortlisting criteria more than six months after the recruitment advertisement was issued.

On February 5, 2026, the college published a list of shortlisted candidates for philosophy, comprising 234 candidates for three unreserved vacancies and 11 candidates for one vacancy for persons with benchmark disabilities (PwBD).

The college subsequently issued a notice stating that 70 candidates would be shortlisted for each unreserved vacancy and that the department-specific cutoff score for philosophy was 50.

The committee said the minimum academic score had been reduced from 55, as prescribed by the University of Delhi, to 50. It also questioned the absence of a previously disclosed basis for deciding the number of candidates to be shortlisted.

A revised list of shortlisted candidates for philosophy was published on February 13, 2026, the report said.

Differences over minority institution status

St Stephen’s College, in its reply to the university, argued that the university’s advice on shortlisting criteria was not mandatory in nature. The college also cited the University Grants Commission (UGC) Regulations, 2018 , which state that the number of candidates called for an interview is to be decided by the college.

The principal further argued that, as a minority institution, the college could not be bound by the university’s prescribed mode of teacher selection. The college requested the university to withdraw its April 29, 2026, letter.

The university, however, reiterated that the shortlisting criteria approved by its statutory bodies were binding on constituent colleges. In a letter dated May 20, 2026, it warned that deviations from university regulations could violate the provisions of Statute 30-C of the university’s statutes and could invoke Statute 30(D)(5).

The committee’s report also noted that the UGC Regulations, 2018, provide special provisions for the constitution of selection committees in minority institutions but do not provide a general exemption from the prescribed procedure for recruiting assistant professors.

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Report flags differences in department-wise selection

The committee’s report compared the university’s recruitment rules with the procedure followed by St Stephen’s College.

Under the university’s prescribed criteria, 40 candidates were to be shortlisted for the first vacancy in each category and 20 additional candidates for every subsequent vacancy, based on marks scored. The college, instead, decided to shortlist 70 candidates for each unreserved vacancy, subject to a minimum academic score of 50.

The report also raised concerns about the publications considered for awarding marks during screening. It said the university’s procedure required publications to be considered according to the prescribed UGC-CARE list, SCOPUS-indexed journals or other sources specified by the university.

Another concern related to the disclosure of individual candidates’ API scores. The committee said the college’s published shortlist did not include these scores, making it difficult for applicants to verify how their scores had been calculated.

The report also recorded a concern raised during the physics selection process, where one of the university’s subject experts declined to sign the final interview score sheet, citing concerns about non-expert members of the selection committee.

College declared results despite court directions

The report stated that St Stephen’s College declared the recruitment results on the night of May 9, 2026, and asked selected candidates to contact the college administration for further action.

The following day, the college allowed selected candidates to join on May 11, while the university committee’s report was still awaited.

On May 13, 2026, the Delhi High Court directed that the recommendations of the selection committee arising from the recruitment advertisement should not be implemented without the court’s leave.

However, the report alleged that the college continued the joining process and assigned invigilation duties to selected candidates during examinations conducted by the college, despite the university’s directions and the subsequent court order. The committee said these actions raised concerns about possible contempt of court.

Committee recommends adherence to university rules

In its recommendations, the committee concluded that St Stephen’s College had violated the shortlisting criteria approved by the university’s statutory bodies, allowing candidates who would otherwise have been ineligible to be shortlisted for the selection committee.

The report stated: “For maintaining uniformity and consistency in the appointment of teachers, the Delhi University Act, 1922 vests the power of appointment and recognition of teachers in the University.”

It further recommended that St Stephen’s College, as a constituent college of the University of Delhi, follow the university’s recruitment rules and regulations.

The report also cited the Delhi University Act, 1922, and the UGC Regulations, 2018, in support of its recommendation that recruitment procedures be followed transparently and consistently across the university and its constituent colleges.

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The findings come amid a wider dispute over faculty appointments at St Stephen’s College. In a separate development, the college recently terminated the services of two assistant professors appointed during former principal John Varghese’s tenure following an internal inquiry into alleged irregularities in their appointments in the chemistry and Hindi departments.

The action followed a review of 25 appointments made on May 9, 2026, and a decision by the college’s governing body on September 29.