A professor of Jawaharlal Nehru University (JNU), hailed as an “unsung hero” by the Supreme Court for his efforts to bring transparency in the IIT entrance exam, has alleged harassment by the institution for the past 42 months in a misbehaviour complaint filed against him.

Rajeev Kumar, a faculty member in the School of Computer and Systems Sciences, fears that the university may withhold his superannuation benefits after his retirement in March 2024, citing the pending inquiry against him, according to a letter he sent to the President of India.

In the letter, Rajeev Kumar alleged that in the garb of the inquiry, JNU had withheld vigilance clearance for him when he wanted to apply for higher academic positions. Rajeev Kumar was not available for comment in spite of attempts by this newspaper to contact him.

Rajeev Kumar has appealed to President Droupadi Murmu, the Visitor to central universities, to annul the inquiry, which should have been resolved in a month’s time under JNU rules.

Rajeev Kumar had acted as a whistleblower during his tenure in IIT Kharagpur where he unearthed several financial and academic malpractices. In 2006, he complained of large-scale irregularities in the JEE exam. At this time, M. Jagadesh Kumar, who was JNU vice-chancellor from 2016 to 2022, had been a member of the Joint Admission Board of the Joint Entrance Examination (JEE) and an IIT Delhi faculty. Rajeev Kumar joined JNU in 2015.

Rajeev Kumar had filed a public interest litigation in the Supreme Court seeking transparency in the JEE. In 2011, the apex court called him an unsung hero. After his petition, the IITs made several changes like allowing candidates to take back carbon copies of their answer sheets.

In his latest letter to the President last week, Rajeev Kumar wrote: “The roots of this matter go back to 2006 when the JNU's former Vice Chancellor, Prof. M. Jagadesh Kumar (currently Chairman UGC), was a member of IIT's Joint Admission Board (JAB) from 2006 to 2008, and I, as a Professor of IIT Kharagpur, discovered wide-spread irregularities and inaccuracies in IIT-JEE admissions; the Hon'ble Supreme Court appreciated my efforts to reform the system, hailing me as an unsung hero. In retaliation, I have been persecuted by the JNU admin since joining (of) Prof. M. Jagadesh Kumar (former faculty, IIT Kharagpur, Delhi) as the Vice-Chancellor.”

Rajeev Kumar has alleged that Jagadesh Kumar, who was the VC of JNU till January 2022, was responsible for instituting the inquiry against him for alleged misbehaviour and delaying the probe because of his earlier complaints about the JEE. There has been no relief in the case even after Santishree D. Pandit took over as VC of the university.

Rajeev Kumar had been accused of misbehaving with two external experts during a Board of Studies meeting in January 2020. The experts had alleged that Rajeev Kumar raised his voice and made some personal remarks against them. One of the complainants withdrew his complaint later.

The JNU administration set up an inquiry in February 2020, when Jagadesh Kumar was VC. Since then, Rajeev Kumar has written to the President several times. The President's secretariat has forwarded the petitions to the education ministry for necessary action and filing a status report. The ministry has, in turn, sent the petitions to JNU. The university is not known to have submitted its response so far.

In his latest letter to the President, Rajeev Kumar has contended that the inquiry was without substance. He has stated that the second complainant was not eligible to attend the meeting because he was a retired faculty member.

The inquiry has been pending for the past 42 months. JNU rules mandate that an inquiry related to the varsity's schools (departments) should be completed within a month.

The Telegraph sent emails to Jagadesh Kumar and Pandit for their comments on Rajeev Kumar's allegations of harassment and deliberate delay in the inquiry. Their response is awaited.