The Delhi High Court on Friday reinstated a dean and four other department heads of the Jawaharlal Nehru University, over a month after the varsity’s administration had replaced them for not complying with its compulsory attendance rule.
The High Court passed the order after the five department heads agreed to follow the attendance rule till the matter is finally decided, PTI reported. They had challenged their removal as well as the legality of the attendance rule in the High Court.
The court also issued a notice to the administration, seeking a response regarding the attendance rule within seven days. Justice Rekha Palli will next hear the matter on May 11.
The court reinstated Kavita Singh as the dean of the School of Arts and Aesthetics, Dhir Sarangi as the chairperson of the Centre for French and Francophone Studies, Uday Kumar as the acting chairperson of the Centre for English Studies, Sucheta Mahajan as the acting chairperson of the Centre for Historical Studies and Pradip Kumar Datta as the chairperson of the Centre for Comparative Politics and Political Thought, PTI reported.
On March 15, the university had also removed Amit Prakash as the chairperson of the Centre for the Study of Law and Governance, the Centre for Economic Studies and Planning’s coordinator Sugato Das Gupta, and Pauthang Haokip as the acting chairperson of Centre for Linguistics.
“This is an encouraging directive and a step towards curbing the blatant violations of rules and regulations by the university administration,” All India Students Assocation and Jawaharlal Nehru University Students Union leader N Sai Balaji said. “We hope that the honourable court will also take up the other violations of the administration – particularly on admissions and the scuttling of reservations.”
The university management issued a circular in December, saying it was planning to make 75% attendance for all courses compulsory and was forming a panel to frame the guidelines. Students and teachers had then called it an “unnecessary and arbitrary” move. The students have since been protesting against the order.
Limited-time offer: Big stories, small price. Keep independent media alive. Become a Scroll member today!
Our journalism is for everyone. But you can get special privileges by buying an annual Scroll Membership. Sign up today!