'Abuse of power': JNU teachers seek VC's removal, write letter to President again

The Jawaharlal Nehru University Teachers’ Association (JUNTA) has sent a second written letter in a month to President Droupadi Murmu — the Visitor of the university — seeking the removal of vice-chancellor Santishree Dhulipudi Pandit.

In the second open letter in three weeks, the JNU teachers accused the vice-chancellor of "vindictive decisions", misuse of statutory powers, and the “conversion of a public institution into a personal fiefdom”.

Calling it a deepening "crisis of governance", the teachers reiterated the "illegal termination" of faculty member Rohan VH Choudhari from the Centre for Political Studies, and flagged concerns about two senior professors who are nearing their retirement this month and and the next.

JNU professors denied promotion

The colleague who is due to retire this month is reaching her age of superannuation tomorrow, September 23.

"She has served the teaching profession for decades, of which the last eleven years has been in JNU. Should you seek details of her record, you would discover that her dedicated service and her academic credentials are beyond questioning, and that she met the eligibility requirements for her promotion under the Career Advance Scheme (CAS) from Associate Professor to Professor several years ago," the letter read.

"Yet, and despite her application for promotion having been put in more than six years ago, she is facing the prospect of retiring without being considered for promotion," the teachers said.

Another colleague who has been serving the university for almost a quarter of a century and was promoted to the position of Associate Professor twelve years ago, is similarly placed as he will achieve his age of superannuation on the 7th day of the next month.

Also read New UGC regulations may create rubber-stamp VCs, conflict with states: JNU professor

Delhi HC questions termination order

The JNU faculty also informed the President about the recent Delhi High Court hearing, wherein the administration was forced to hold the termination of Rohan VH Choudhari in abeyance. "The University was placed here in a position where it was unable to defend the legality of its decision."

"Despite the University committing in the High Court on 2 September 2025 that it would hold his termination in abeyance, the teacher was subjected to further harassment in the process of implementing that commitment," teachers alleged.

"Yet again, the VC cast aside the statutory framework of the University’s governance to arbitrarily create an ad-hoc committee that was given the name of a “Standing Committee on Confirmation” but had no clear terms of reference," it added.

'Abuse' of powers

Urging to initiate an inquiry into the process of formation of this committee, the JNUTA said: "The abuse of powers in JNU begins with the concentration of all powers to appoint to different positions in the Administration (like Deans and Chairpersons) in the office of the VC, and the exercise of such powers being guided by the primary consideration of ensuring that the occupants of these positions will act according to the VC’s bidding."

“It is because this process has gone so far as to make the situation irretrievable as long as the present VC continues in office that we had requested you to remove her from office,” the letter concluded.