President Kovind approves Education Ministry proposal to initiate inquiry into Delhi VC’s alleged administrative lapses

President Ram Nath Kovind who is also the Visitor of Delhi University Tuesday evening approved the proposal of the Ministry of Education to initiate an inquiry against DU's Vice-Chancellor Yogesh Tyagi for administrative lapses.

Armed with the President's approval, the Ministry will be dispatching a show-cause notice to the Vice-Chancellor soon.

Professor Yogesh Tyagi is facing heat from the ministry after an ugly power tussle between him and the Pro-Vice-Chancellor played out publicly.

Tyagi is presently on medical leave ever since he was admitted to AIIMS on July 2 with an "emergency medical condition". Pro-Vice-Chancellor P C Joshi was, thus, given charge of the office of the Vice-Chancellor until Tyagi resumed office.

Last week, a controversy erupted when Tyagi without having resumed office and without submitting a medical fitness certificate, removed Joshi as Pro-VC and appointed Geeta Bhatt, director of the Non-Collegiate Women's Education Board of the university, in his place.

Joshi had, meanwhile, notified the appointment of a new registrar, Vikas Gupta. However, on the same day, Tyagi had approved and notified the appointment of P C Jha as acting registrar.

Miffed with the administrative lapses and power tussle, the Education Ministry sent a strongly worded letter to the DU Registrar Vikas Gupta asking him not to act upon the order issued by Tyagi.

"The orders issued by the VC during his period of absence on the medical ground without joining the office properly and officially is not valid and should not be acted upon by the University functionary. In the future, if the VC wants to join the office, proper medical fitness certificates issued by the competent authority who treated him may be obtained", the Education Ministry said.

It also made it clear that Prof Joshi who is acting VC will act as VC and all the orders that are normally issued under the statutes with the approval of the VC, should be issued with the approval of Pro-VC Prof P C Joshi.

Prof. Tyagi's, Registrar appointee P.C. Jha, however, wrote to the Ministry defending that VC's decisions were in compliance with Act, Statutes and Ordinances of the university. Miffed with the letter of Jha, Ministry shot back a letter to Registrar Vikas Gupta, inquiring about was this person and his locus! The Ministry's letter also alludes to initiation of disciplinary proceedings against Jha as per the Delhi University Act, 1922 and Statutes and Ordinances, in case he turns out to be an employee of Delhi University.

Tyagi was recommended out of the panel of four candidates for the post of DU VC in 2016 by the then Education Minister Smriti Irani. Tyagi's predecessor Professor Dinesh Singh had also faced the heat of the Education Ministry, which had sought to send him on compulsory wait for allegedly meddling with the appointment process of his successor. However, this did not find favour with the President, which then led the Education Ministry to withdraw the proposal.