On Tuesday, December 24, various associations representing university and college teachers in New Delhi accused Ambedkar University Delhi (AUD) of arbitrarily terminating two faculty members for their role in regularising 38 contractual administrative staff in 2018-19 and demanded their immediate reinstatement.
The All India Federation of University and College Teachers' Organisations (AIFUCTO) and the Federation of Central Universities Teachers Associations (FEDCUTA) requested the assistance of the Delhi government, which governs the university’s functioning, to protect the institution's reputation from further damage, The Telegraph reports.
The university terminated the services of Professors Salil Mishra and Asmita Kabra last month after an investigation found them guilty of "misconduct" in connection with the decision to regularise 38 contractual employees.
Mishra was Pro-Vice-Chancellor, and Kabra was Acting Registrar between 2018 and 19, when they carried out the university's board of management's collaborative decision to regularise contractual workers with ten years of service.
Following Prof Anu Singh Lather's appointment as VC in 2020, the regularisation was re-examined. The management of AUD has set up three inquiry committees to investigate potential irregularities in the regularisation order, but none of the panels discovered any proof of wrongdoing in its execution.
The first vigilance inquiry committee concluded that no one officer could be held accountable for the decision, even if the policy itself was problematic.
However, the second committee charged Mishra and Kabra with activities "unbecoming of a public officer" and referred to their regularisation order as "misconduct" under the Central Service Rule (CCS) 1965. The third committee also found the two teachers guilty of “misconduct”.
Based on the findings of the previous two committees, the university's vigilance department recommended firing the two professors and denying them severance pay.
