Mumbai: The central university Mahatma Gandhi Antarrashtriya Hindi Vishwavidyalaya at Maharashtra’s Wardha has removed the institution’s senior-most professor from the vice-chancellor’s position after only two months, eventually ignoring a Bombay high court order and replacing him. Lella Karunyakara, the professor and also a dean of the School of Culture, belongs to a Dalit community.
Karunyakara took charge as the V-C in August 2023. His appointment as a default V-C was suddenly revoked in October and the IIM Nagpur director Dr. Bhimraya Metri was made to take charge even when the university rules did not allow this change.
Karunyakara approached the Nagpur bench of the Bombay high court and secured a favourable order. The University, however, disobeyed it and suspended Kanuyakara from his post. The University has appointed the second most senior professor after Karunyakara, Krishna Kumar Singh, as the V-C now.
How it unfolded
Karunyakara belongs to Dalit community from Telangana and is one of the very few from the community to have risen to the position of the university’s V-C. When the former V-C Rajneesh Kumar Shukla was forced to resign following a controversy over a chat with a woman, Karunyakara was given charge as the most senior professor. A prolific academic, Karunyakara’s assertive drive did not make the university administration happy, it is learnt.
Karunyakara took charge on August 14, 2023.
One of the initial steps Karunyakara took was to revoke associate professor Dharmesh Katheriya’s suspension. Katheriya was put under suspension by Shukla after the latter found him guilty of “disobeying” the university rules. However, on resuming duty, Katheriya appeared to have turned against Karunyakara. Eventually, on resuming the duty, Katheriya was appointed as the registrar of the University.
Karunyakara remained in office only until October 19. The Union ministry of education, on the orders of the President Draupadi Murmu, who is the Visitor at the university, appointed IIM Nagpur director Dr. Bhimraya Metri as the acting V-C. Karunyakara opposed this appointment in the high court.
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‘Rules’
Karunyakara, in his petition, pointed to section 2 (7) of the University rules, which clearly states that: “If the office of the V-C becomes vacate due to death, resignation or otherwise, or if he is unable to perform his duties due to ill health or any other cause, the pro-V-C shall perform the duties of the V-C. Provided that if the pro-V-C is not available, the senior most professor shall perform the duties of the V-C until a new V-C assumes office or until the existing V-C attends to the duties of his office as the case may be.”
Since there is no pro-V-C at the university, by the virtue of his seniority, Karunyakara ought to have taken charge. Also, the rules do not assign any role to the “Visitor” to make appointments or remove anyone from the V-C’s position, he argued.
After the court’s clear order directing the university to follow the rule, Karunyakara took charge once again on March 31 this year. This time, he decided to overturn his own order of Katheriya’s reinstatement and also informed the education ministry that he had taken charge following the high court’s order.
Shortly afterwards, an Executive Council meeting was convened, ostensibly to decide against Karunyakara’s role as V-C. Karunyakara said in his response to the university that this was not done as per rules.
‘Intimidated’, show caused
After this meeting, Karunyakara was allegedly intimidated, and made to leave his office. On Katheriya’s orders, his office was locked up.
While Karunyakara continued to pursue his petition before the high court, he was served with a ‘show cause’ notice last month. In his response, Karunyakara once again pointed to the University’s rules and the court’s order. “It is my duty to follow the order and the statute (the University rules) in letter and spirit,” he wrote in his response.
He also pointed to the disturbances caused because of the earlier V-C’s resignation and with the behaviour shown towards him on taking charge of the office. He said that to bring “normality and stability to everyday functioning of the administration”, it was important that he returned to his office. Important decisions relating to the financial year end, budgetary decisions, salaries of temporary and contractual workers, and PhD admission process had to be taken care of, he stated in his response.
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‘An assertive Dalit man’
Students and faculty members empathetic to Karunyakara say that the University did not want an assertive Dalit man to take charge. They also claim that there is a clear infiltration of Hindutva groups on campus who have been exerting pressure on the administration. The Wire approached Karunyakara for his say on the issue. He did not respond to messages and calls.
There are many instances to show the present administration is not supportive of students organising and unionising themselves. Recently, when a bunch of students staged a protest against Karunyakara’s removal from the V-C’s post and the subsequent appointment of Metri as the V-C, the University expelled a few students. One of these students, Niranjan Oberay, moved the Nagpur bench of the Bombay high court against his expulsion.
The court, in his case too, passed a favourable order. Yet, the university prevented him from entering the campus. Oberay moved the high court and contempt proceedings were once again initiated against Katheriya. The court, in the order has observed: “Katheriya, in the capacity of registrar of the University has intentionally and deliberately acted in contravention and disregard to the orders of this Court.”
The judges further added that since Katheriya’s act viewed to be “intentional and deliberate act of conducting in defiance of orders of this Court”, he has made himself liable for an action under the Contempt of Courts Act. Katheriya has to respond to the court’s contempt order by May 6.
