Kozhikode: Several faculty appointments at the Sree Sankaracharya University of Sanskrit at Kalady have come under scrutiny for violation of norms amid a row over the recruitment of a CPM leader's spouse. The Vice Chancellor has been even blamed for taking arbitrary actions, including those that go against the mandatory quotas for several categories.
The Save University Campaign Committee has alleged that appointments to the Sanskrit University are being made in complete violation of the reservation system, and by flouting university rules and violating High Court judgments.
Notifications in a legal tangle
The notification for appointment to 55 posts in the university, including the controversial appointment of ex-MP MB Rajesh's wife in the Malayalam language section, has been caught in a legal tussle from the very beginning.
The notification was revised within five days of its first issuance following complaints regarding non-compliance with the reservation list (roster). But, it was alleged that the second notification was also not in accordance with the roster.
The first notification was issued on August 26, 2019. The new notification was issued on August 31 after a candidate approached the High Court alleging that the reservation rules had been violated in the original one.
In the new notification, the number of vacancies for the professor, associate professor and assistant professor posts was also altered. It is alleged that this was issued directly by the Vice-Chancellor without obtaining the approval of the university syndicate.
It is also alleged that a candidate who was rejected during scrutiny was appointed in the Sanskrit (General) section. A member of the syndicate, who was also a member of the selection committee, had expressed disagreement with this.
"When a case is pending in the High Court, its permission should be sought for making an appointment. So several recent appointments are illegal. An appointment made on a contract basis in the Department of Philosophy was made permanent against a vacancy reserved for Muslim candidates," the Committee stated.
There was a violation of reservation rules in the disabled category, too, the committee pointed out.
Dr Umer Tharamel defends himself
Meanwhile, Dr Umer Tharamel, a member of an interview board, challenged CPM leader MB Rajesh to prove that his wife's appointment as an Assistant Professor in the Department of Malayalam was fair. Rajesh, an ex Member of Parliament, had averred that his wife is targeted as part of a conspiracy.
"Three people had conspired to try to sabotage the appointment of my wife R Ninitha to make way for the appointment of a candidate who was close to a prominent person on the interview board," Rajesh had alleged as the row erupted.
In a Facebook post Dr Umer had remarked that he didn't sneak into the interview panel and should not be blamed for matters that have come up for debate in the public domain.
"No one was tasked with asking Ninitha to back down. If such a thing had happened, then how he obtained the letter addressed to the vice-chancellor demanding an inquiry," Dr Umer wrote.
"I became a part of the interview board on the request of the vice-chancellor. I can be called to function as a subject matter expert in any university except the one where I work," Dr Umer pointed out.
"The PhD qualification and other abilities of the candidate named Ninitha were not dismissed. I completed the task that was assigned to me and I only pointed out a few inadequacies," he added.
