Shimla: Students’ Federation of India members in Himachal Pradesh University gheraoed the office of Registrar Gian Sagar Negi on Tuesday, demanding a judicial inquiry into alleged irregularities in recruitments.
An SFI delegation also submitted two memoranda to Vice-Chancellor Professor Mahavir Singh via the Registrar.
The SFI activists alleged that the university received the application of a candidate after the cut-off date mentioned in its advertisement.
They said that according to the university’s advertisement, the last date for online application was January 30, 2020, and the last date for submitting hard copies of the application was February 15, 2020.
“Later, in a clarification issued on October 26, 2020, the university had made it clear that only those certificates, research publications, and other documents issued by the competent authority by January 30, 2020, would be valid for the selection process,” they said.
However, information obtained through RTI reveals that the hard copy of a candidate’s application was received in the university (diary number 3659) on February 24, 2020, while the last date was February 15.
The SFI activists questioned how applications received after the deadline were considered eligible for the selection process.
In the second memorandum, SFI alleged violation of Section 2(15) of the Himachal Pradesh University Act, 1970, stating that one of the staff members originally posted as a Computer Programmer was honoured and given a farewell as a Professor in a ceremony held on Tuesday.
If the said person had not yet been formally recognised as a teacher by the Academic Council, presenting him as a teacher was against the University Act, they said, demanding that the university authorities publicise the statutory orders regarding this matter.
The SFI activists warned of intensifying their protest if the university fails to take action on the two matters. PTI
