JNU students, teachers demand VC Santishree Pandit’s removal over recruitment row

The Jawaharlal Nehru University Students’ Union (JNUSU) and the JNU Teachers’ Association (JNUTA) have demanded the removal of Vice Chancellor Santishree Dhulipudi Pandit and an independent, time-bound inquiry into alleged irregularities in faculty recruitment and promotions at the university.

The demands follow recent media reports alleging irregularities in JNU’s recruitment process. In a press release, JNUSU said the report alleges that the candidates were brought back into selection process despite being rejected by subject experts for not meeting mandatory University Grants Commission (UGC) eligibility criteria.

As per demands issued on August 13, JNUTA claimed that an investigation based on RTI responses, official records and executive council dissent notes found that at least seven faculty members were appointed in violation of UGC norms.

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The teachers’ association alleged that candidates rejected by screening committees were subsequently added to the final shortlists by the Internal Quality Assurance Cell (IQAC) without approval from the original screening committees. These changes were made without recorded reasons and even objections raised by elected teachers’ representatives in the Executive Council were ignored.

JNUTA further alleged that the IQAC did not have the authority under university statutes, regulations or UGC norms to independently insert, delete, reinstate or declare eligible candidates contrary to the decisions of duly constituted academic screening committees.

No response even after 100 days

The teachers’ body said it had raised questions about the functioning of the IQAC and recruitment and Career Advancement Scheme (CAS) cases with the university’s registrar and IQAC Director P R Kumaraswamy in May this year. JNUTA claimed that although it was promised a response within a week, no response had been received even after around 100 days.

The concentration of powers in the vice chancellor’s office had affected recruitments, promotions, appointments to administrative positions and academic decision-making, the association told PTI. It claimed that statutory bodies were increasingly being reduced to formalities and alleged that decisions were being taken without adequate deliberation.

JNUTA said it had written four times to visitor and President Droupadi Murmu between September 2025 and April 2026, seeking intervention and the removal of the vice chancellor.

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Court-monitored inquiry into all faculty recruitments

JNUSU also alleged that concerns over alleged irregularities extended beyond faculty recruitment to non-teaching appointments, security contracts and other administrative decisions. The students’ union demanded the immediate removal of Pandit and Kumaraswamy and sought a time-bound judicial or court-monitored inquiry into all faculty recruitments conducted during the vice chancellor’s tenure.

It also sought public disclosure of recruitment records, screening committee proceedings, shortlists and appointment-related documents, besides legal action against officials found responsible for violating UGC regulations or manipulating recruitment processes.

JNUTA, meanwhile, demanded an independent Visitorial or court-monitored inquiry covering faculty recruitment, CAS promotions, the functioning of the IQAC, alteration of screening outcomes and the manner in which decisions were placed before and approved by the Executive Council.

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The teachers’ association also called for the preservation of all physical and electronic records related to faculty recruitment and promotion from February 2022 onwards and an independent audit of every faculty recruitment made during the present vice chancellor’s tenure.

JNUSU also referred to an earlier inquiry report concerning Pandit’s tenure at the University of Pune. The students’ union said that, according to a report submitted by Inquiry Officer Justice J A Patil (Retired), Pandit, then Director of the International Students Centre at the University of Pune, was “proved to have been guilty of misconduct and moral turpitude”.

There was no immediate response from the university administration to the allegations made by the two bodies. Both organisations have urged the Ministry of Education, the UGC and the Visitor to intervene, ensure preservation of records and initiate an independent inquiry into the allegations.

(With PTI inputs)