Saxena orders removal of pharma varsity VC over recruitment scam

Tribune News Service

New Delhi, February 17

Delhi Lieutenant-Governor VK Saxena on Saturday ordered immediate removal of Professor Ramesh K Goyal from his position as the Vice-Chancellor of the Delhi Pharmaceutical Sciences and Research University (DPSRU).

Irregularities highlighted in report

• University did not establish a cut-off for the final selection of candidates
• The candidate with the highest maximum score was not selected for the Assistant Professor (Physiotherapy) position.
• Alterations were made to the interview marks of a candidate for the Associate Professor (Pharmaceuticals) position without proper attestation, indicating manipulation and tampering of records
• Candidates who did not specify the subject of the post during the application process were selected using a pick-and-choose method
• A candidate on the waiting list for the Professor (Pharmacy) position was not offered the role after a selected candidate failed to join
• Reservation rosters were not maintained for the 2017 recruitment, and the roster was not properly followed for the 2019 recruitment.
• The university adopted a pick-and-choose policy in the 2017 recruitment, issuing offer letters to nine candidates out of 16 recommended candidates for 11 advertised vacancies.
• The recruitment rules for the advertised posts were not authenticated
• Alterations were made to the upper age limit for the Assistant Professor position without approval from the competent authority

This decision was prompted by the discovery of glaring irregularities and illegalities, particularly a large-scale recruitment scam, uncovered by an inquiry committee tasked with investigating the recruitment process of teaching faculties conducted by the university in 2017 and 2019, during Goyal’s tenure.

As the university Chancellor, the L-G authorised the initiation of steps to involve the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) in the matter. Specifically, he directed the MHA to refer the case for investigation by an external investigating agency.

Additionally, he approved the filing of an FIR against Goyal and six other officers, named in the report of the three-member inquiry committee, for their involvement in the scam in which culpability of many private institutions, whose certificates were used for recruitment, has been found, officials in the L-G office said. “Besides Goyal, a probe by an external agency has also been recommended against six others, including external expert Govind Mohan,” they added.

The L-G took serious note of the findings outlined in the inquiry committee’s report from October 2023. It was observed that Prof Goyal, who was in charge during the scam, provided a selective response to the show-cause notice, failing to address the major irregularities highlighted in the report. Instead, he attempted to downplay the seriousness of the irregularities raised by the university administration.

Moreover, it was noted that the VC’s responses were deemed “baseless”, “manipulated” and “misleading”. He shifted responsibility for the irregularities and tampering with recruitment records onto others, disregarding his role as the custodian of university affairs, especially concerning faculty recruitment, a fundamental aspect of any university’s operations.

The L-G approved a proposal from the Directorate of Training and Technical Education, GNCTD, to present before the Board of Governors, DPSRU, for the removal of Prof Harvinder Popli, who currently serves as the Registrar in the university.

The L-G also accepted recommendations from the department to initiate disciplinary action for the potential removal or dismissal of illegally appointed faculty members mentioned in the inquiry report. This process will adhere to due process of law. Moreover, it was decided to remove officers or officials whose probation has not been cleared.

Saxena approved the initiation of disciplinary proceedings against 17 illegally selected faculty members, including professors, assistant professors and associate professors. The names mentioned in the inquiry report include Popli, Jaseela Majeed, Rajiv Tonk, Sushma Talegaonkar, Ajit Thakur, Mahavir Dhobi, Shilpa Jain, Geeta Agarwal, Ajay Sharma, Richa Hirendra Rai, Madhu Gupta, Sheetal Yadav, Suraj Pal, Punita Ajmera, Meenakshi Garg, Kusuma Praveen Kumar and Sachin Kumar.

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