Governor C.V. Ananda Bose wrote to the Jadavpur University vice-chancellor on Monday that the explanation he gave for going ahead with the annual convocation, scheduled for December 24, “is unacceptable”.
Bhaskar Gupta, JU’s “authorised” (interim) VC, went to Raj Bhavan on December 20 to explain to the governor, the ex-officio chancellor of state-aided universities, that JU had started preparing well in advance for the convocation.
A day before, the chancellor had accused Gupta of scheduling the convocation hurriedly, without following the due procedure.
In his communication on Monday, the chancellor asked Gupta not to hold the convocation.
The university has, however, issued a notification announcing a meeting of the Court, a must before the convocation, in accordance with the West Bengal University Laws (Amendment Act), 2011, and requested the chancellor to “chair” the court “in the interest of the students”.
Late on Monday, Bose wrote to the VC that as the registrar had not followed the procedure of convening the court meeting, giving at least 15 days’ notice, the process of holding the convocation “is frustrated”.
“You are directed to follow legal provisions as per Act... and refrain from the unlawful actions which will affect the students,” the communication said.
In a letter to the VC on December 19, Bose had said the executive council meeting held two days earlier had been convened at short notice and the university had not sought the chancellor’s approval for the convocation date.
“This procedure has not been adopted,” the letter had said.
A JU official said the VC had explained to the chancellor that they had started preparing for the convocation from an executive council meeting on October 27.
The chancellor was also told that the council meeting was held again on December 17 following approval from the state government to finalise the number of degree certificate recipients, the official said.
Monday’s letter from the chancellor’s office, which Metro has read, says the VC was told that as the process of appointing a regular (full-term) VC had commenced, holding the convocation would be “best left for the incumbent”.
“In view of the above, I am further directed to convey that the explanation submitted by you is found to be unacceptable since the vice-chancellor is expected to exercise due diligence in complying with the legal provisions enshrined in the Acts and rules.... He should avoid unlawful actions which could lead to unnecessary litigations affecting the validity of the degrees given, thereby affecting the interests of the student community,” said the letter.
The governor has time till January 8 to appoint a JU vice-chancellor from a list of candidates drawn up by a Supreme Court-appointed search panel.
A JU official said that if the chancellor had reservations about holding the convocation, he should have expedited the process of appointing a full-term VC.
Calls and text messages from this newspaper to the VC went unanswered.
Education minister Bratya Basu wrote on X on Monday evening: “The convocation of a university like Jadavpur University is a sacrosanct event for the students and the faculties of that institution and it has been held on 24th December for a very long time. One does not play with the conventions and heritage of such an institution. Moreover, due process of law has been observed as far as practicable and nothing that benefits the students can be withheld indefinitely.”