New Delhi: A member of the search committee that was constituted in October 17, 2018, to look for candidates to be appointed as the vice-chancellor of Jamia Millia Islamia University has written to President Ram Nath Kovind asking him to recall the appointment of Najma Akhtar, the current VC of the university.
According to a report in the Indian Express, Ramakrishna Ramaswamy, in a letter to the president on March 8, claimed that the Central Vigilance Commission (CVC) had denied vigilance clearance to Akhtar in January 2019.
Ramaswamy also claimed that the CVC had recommended that Akhtar not be considered for any post-retirement assignment or employment at any organisation or institution under the ambit of the human resource development ministry.
However, Ramaswamy’s letter failed to specify what the CVC’s objection to Akhtar was.
Ramaswamy’s letter also said that three names were recommended to the president after the search committee interacted with the 13 shortlisted candidates on November 28 and that Akhtar was the one finally selected.
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On April 11, 2019, Akhtar’s name for the post of Jamia VC was approved by the president. Ramaswamy’s letter said, “This is a grave matter, since in the process of arriving at a short-list, otherwise meritorious candidates were passed over by the committee on account of even the remotest vigilance clearance issues.”
Ramaswamy further wrote, “In past few months, you have shown exemplary leadership as Visitor of the Central Universities by recalling the Vice Chancellors of two Central Universities when their credentials were in question.”
“The OM of the CVC quoted above is very strong in its indictment, and under these circumstances, I am writing to request that the same caution be exercised in the case of the Jamia Millia Islamia and appropriate remedial action be taken,” his letter stated.
Upon her appointment, Akhtar became the first woman vice-chancellor of Jamia Millia Islamia. After the attack on Jamia Millia Islamia University on December 15, Akhtar had criticised the Delhi police for entering the campus and said that she stood with her students. “I am hurt by the way my students were treated. I want to let my students know that they are not alone in this fight. I am with them. I will take this matter forward as long it’s possible,” Akhtar had said in a video message.
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She also demanded a high-level inquiry into the entry of police personnel into the campus without permission at a press conference later. She had also said that the university might move the court for the registration of an FIR over police “brutality” on the campus.
Akhtar is a former Vice-Chancellor of the Central University of Hyderabad and is currently associated with IIT-Delhi.
The Delhi high court is already seized of a petition challenging Akhtar’s appointment to the post of V-C. The court issued the notice on a plea by Jamia alumnus M. Ehtesham-Ul-Haque which contended that the CVC had initially denied a vigilance clearance certificate to Akhtar.