M A I N   N E W S

Bari appointed PU Registrar
Tribune News Service

Chandigarh, September 4
The Panjab University Senate today appointed Prof S.S. Bari from the Department of Chemistry as the new Registrar. Though the Syndicate had cleared his appointment earlier, it was shrouded by controversy as questions had been raised on his administrative experience.

In the wake of this controversy, the Senate meeting was expected to witness heated discussions but surprisingly Prof Bari’s appointment was cleared without any hitch with the majority of Senators approving it. It may be mentioned here that Controller of Examinations, Dr Sodhi Ram, had sent a legal notice questioning the validity of Prof Bari’s administrative experience.

This issue was discussed at the meeting and the majority of the Senators opined that it was important to consider administrative experience in the light of the fact that the appointment was for an educational institution. Many were of the new that considering Prof Bari had been associated with many committees and research work he was well qualified for the post.

The senate also cleared the appointment of Prof S.S. Bansal from the Department of Law for the post of Dean University Instruction (DUI). A discussion was expected as Prof Veer Singh, who is slated to be the next DUI after Prof Bansal retires in a month, had appealed in the High Court that he was senior and should be appointed first. The Senate, however, cleared Prof Bansal’s appointment without any discussion.

The Senate also cleared the appointments of the faculty of Dr Harvansh Singh Judge Dental College, which is yet to start. It was argued that that according to the PU calendar an appointment cannot last for more than six months. However, as an exception it was decided to make the appointments valid till July 31 2006.

Earlier in the day during zero hour the issue of B.Ed. colleges being opened in such large numbers and PU giving them affiliation was also raised. The recommendations to improve upon the existing election procedure of the PU Senate was also debated and the suggestion of introducing OMR sheets instead of voting, saw many Senators reject it. It was, however, later decided that there were still three years left for the next elections and the matter would be discussed again.

PU Senate accepts irregularities report
Tribune News Service

Chandigarh, September 4
The Panjab University Senate today accepted the inquiry reports submitted by Mr A.N. Mathur in the irregularities of the PU Sports Department and decided to issue show-cause notice to Dr Kewal Singh, Assistant Director, Sports and Gurpal Singh, Senior Assistant, both under suspension. It was also decided to bring an office note against former Director, Sports, Ajmer Singh, in the next senate meeting in December.

A heated discussion preceded the decision. The Senators discussed at length the validity of bringing in the inquiry report without details of the charge sheets issued as also relevant documents along with it in the agenda.

However, later it was decided that along with the show cause notice, Dr Kewal Singh and Gurpal Singh would also be given the right to ask for any other documents. The issue would be brought in the next Senate meeting and it would then be decided what punishment should be given to them.

The Senate also accepted Justice A.L. Bahris’s report regarding the allegations against R.K. Gupta, Kulwant Singh, SDE, and SS Saini, Deputy XEN, PU. However, it was decided not to take any action against them.

The issue of the Evening Studies Department dominated the Senate proceedings after the lunch hour. A heated debate ensued, which lasted for more than two hours. Senators argued that the matter could be settled outside court.

The Vice-Chancellor came with a resolution that Prof Atul Veer Arora should be restored as Chairman under the supervision of DUI and his action of insubordination is deplored and status quo be maintained for admissions. He also suggested that from next year onwards the scope of admissions should be enlarged beyond employed students. This proposal was, however, initially rejected and an argument again ensued.

However, later it was accepted though not completely. It was ultimately decided that the previous Syndicate decision be upheld and the DUI would continue to be the chairperson as per orders of the High Court.