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Time of India
3 days ago
- Politics
- Time of India
‘Bid to take over registrar's room' at Gurukul Kangri foiled by striking employees
Haridwar: The administrative tussle at Gurukul Kangri (deemed-to-be) University in Haridwar intensified on Wednesday, with vice-chancellor (VC) Hemalatha K alleging that registrar Sunil Kumar tried to forcibly occupy the registrar's room "with the help of over 50 hooligans". Employees of the university, on strike since July over the adoption of the 2019 UGC (Institutions Deemed to be Universities) regulations instead of the 2023 regulations, allegedly foiled the attempt, forcing Kumar to return to his makeshift office. Kumar had been removed by Hemalatha but was reinstated by chancellor S K Arya. The chancellor also removed Hemalatha and appointed Prabhat Kumar as VC, a move she refused to recognise, claiming her own appointment was made by the education ministry under UGC norms based on seniority. Before her removal, Hemalatha had appointed Vipul Sharma as registrar. Hemalatha has approached the Uttarakhand high court (HC) against her removal, alleging Prabhat captured the VC's office on July 7 with the help of the district administration. She also claims Arya's appointment as chancellor was illegal. Following Wednesday's incident, employees wrote to the district magistrate, demanding measures to prevent further attempts to "seize control of the university by force". by Taboola by Taboola Sponsored Links Sponsored Links Promoted Links Promoted Links You May Like New Container Houses Indonesia (Prices May Surprise You) Container House | Search Ads Search Now Undo They pointed out that such a takeover had succeeded on July 7 and noted that the high court had asked the district administration to name officials who allegedly helped Prabhat in that incident. Earlier last week, the high court observed that a March 3 letter signed by an under secretary granting the Punjab, Haryana, and Delhi units of Arya Pratinidhi Sabha (APS), the varsity's governing body, exemption from the 2023 UGC regulations may not be acceptable to the court. The exemption allowed APS to retain appointment powers curtailed by the 2023 regulations, and in May, the court had cited the letter while allowing APS to appoint the university's chancellor and vice-chancellor. The case was filed by university employees against APS. The court's query to Gaurav Bhandari, the CGSC, drew what it termed an unconvincing reply in his counter affidavit. After reviewing it, the court asked him to specify the paragraphs containing the answer. On his response, the bench remarked: "A plain reading of the paragraphs nowhere states or reveals which provision of the UGC Act, 1956, vests competency in the under secretary to pass such an order or authorise such takeover of a university. " It added, "It is apparent that this respondent is deliberately evading an answer to the query which, in our prima facie opinion, goes to the very root of the matter. At this stage, we have no other option but to infer that the under secretary has acted without authority." If the court rules in favour of the teachers and employees, the letter granting the APS exemption will be cancelled and the university will be required to enforce the 2023 UGC regulations. "This has been our demand since the start," said the employees' leaders. Stay updated with the latest local news from your city on Times of India (TOI). Check upcoming bank holidays , public holidays , and current gold rates and silver prices in your area.
Time of India
18-06-2025
- Business
- Time of India
Appointment process begins for new VC at Gurukul Kangri Univ amid ongoing legal issues
Haridwar: Gurukul Kangri (Deemed to be) University in Haridwar is set to appoint its new vice-chancellor – two months after the Arya Pratinidhi Sabha (APS) units of Punjab, Haryana, and Delhi appointed its chancellor – settling a long-standing controversy over the appointment of the top two university functionaries. However, authorities said legal proceedings in the matter are still ongoing. APS Delhi secretary, Vinay Arya said that the appointment of the VC will be made under University Grants Commission (UGC) rules, with the university's board of management (BoM) initiating the process. Notably, the authority to appoint the university's chancellor and VC was restored to the APS bodies on May 21, after previously being restricted under UGC Regulations 2023. A letter from the Union education ministry dated March 3 this year allowed the university to continue with its existing memorandum of association (MoA) under the UGC Regulations 2019, while exempting it — for now — from the UGC Regulations 2023. The university is required to sign a revised MoU with the ministry, UGC, and itself. Crucially, the exemption is conditional. If the university fails to meet the requirements by FY 2027–28 — which includes the creation and maintenance of a corpus fund by the sponsoring bodies — it will be required to fully adopt the 2023 regulations. A senior university official said that this condition is yet to be met by the sponsoring bodies, which could impact the university's compliance status in the future. In another condition laid down in the ministry's letter, it was stated that the university must present duly audited books of account indicating that its total receipts and expenses are more than twice the govt grants received. While the sponsoring bodies are confident of achieving it by the deadline, the university staff's optimism rests on their failure to do so. "They will not under any circumstance be able to raise their contribution to the level and must necessarily adopt the 2023 regulations," said Rajaneesh Bhardwaj, president of the university non-teaching staff union. "Adoption of the regulations will pave the way for the appointment of both the chancellor and VC by the govt. This will be in the best interest of the university," he added. A university official, on account of anonymity, took exception to the MoA drafted by the sponsoring bodies. "According to the draft, the ownership of Gurukul Kangri will vest with the sponsoring body. Secondly, it creates a society which will be above the BoM. These provisions are clearly against the 2019 regulations," he said. The university's officiating VC Hemalatha K said she would not like to comment as the matter was still sub judice. "All that I can say is that the matter should be decided in the best interest of the university."
