OBC commission summons DU's Swami Shraddhanand College principal over teacher recruitment

NEW DELHI : The Delhi OBC commission has summoned the principal of DU's Swami Shraddhanand College for allegedly not abiding by the directions of the National Commission for Backward Classes in appointing teachers. College Principal Praveen Garg has been asked to appear before the commission on Monday with an action taken report. The NCBC in 2021 had ordered the college to quash all 27 ad-hoc appointments for assistant professors it had made, as the roster was not followed, professor and complainant Suraj Mandal said.

Garg did not respond to calls and texts from PTI seeking a response. He was summoned after Mandal wrote to the commission alleging non-compliance of the 2021 NCBC order by the college. According to a fact-finding committee constituted by the college governing body, no appointments have been quashed so far despite the NCBC's order. "You are requested to appear before the Commission on 26/09/2022 at 3:00 PM in person along with an Action Taken Report (ATR) in this regard (compliance of NCBC order)," said Jagdish Yadav, Chairman of the state's OBC Commission, in a letter to Garg on Thursday.

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The commission has ordered the principal not to take “any further action” about any appointment without following the roster “in the interest of justice to the OBC community.” The fact finding committee, which submitted its report in August, accused Garg of selectively not appointing candidates against reserved posts, especially those reserved for OBC, leaving the positions blank. He has also been accused of claiming and treating the applicants as ‘Not Found Suitable’ without a proper Selection Committee observation. "The committee thus, infers that there is a strong case to quash the legal appointments and make the recovery of salary made against any such illegal appointments. "Law shall take its course in the matter of lying before the Commission on oath under an Affidavit," the report said.