Patna,(BiharTimes): Another Janata Dal (United) MLA is likely to land in trouble following Governor-cum-Chancellor Ram Nath Kovind’s decision to constitute two separate committees to investigate the alleged irregularities in the appointment of Assistant Professors-cum-Junior Scientists at Bihar Agricultural University, Sabour, Bhagalpur, in 2011 and wrongdoing by the acting vice-chancellors (VCs) of all the universities, except L N Mithila University, between April, 2013 and January 2014. Both the panels have been given two months time to submit their reports.
Sources said the orders for the inquiry were issued by the Chancellor after reviewing all the complaints and petitions received from various sources and also after examining the report of the present BAU vice-chancellor.
According to reports the probe committee will look into all the actions taken by the university in alleged violation of the Act, statutes and relevant provisions.
A notification issued by Raj Bhavan on Tuesday, said Justice (Retired) Akhilesh Chandra will be the chairman of the three-member committee to probe the alleged irregularities committed by the acting VCs during their 10 months tenure.
Former VC of Tilka Manjhi Bhagalpur University Prema Jha and retired IAS officer Masood Hasan are the two other members. The committee will inquire into all the irregularities committees in appointments, promotions and financial transactions during the period of the acting VCs' tenure.
The Chancellor's secretariat has already requisitioned a complete list of decisions as well as concerned files and records from all the universities except LNMU for thorough examination.
The committee is supposed to examine all the major decisions taken. If it is found that those decisions were contrary to the provisions of Patna University Act, 1976, and Bihar State Universities Act, 1976, as amended up-to-date, and statutes, the Chancellor shall give notices to the persons likely to be affected by his decisions.
According to a Times of India report the orders to review the decisions of acting VCs were given by the Patna high court on November 30 last year in the CWJC case no. 18733 of 2013 (Sameer Kumar Sharma vs State of Bihar and others).
The court had observed that there was no sanity in the functioning of the acting VCs who, despite being aware that they had been authorized to work as VCs only by way of stopgap arrangement and till the appointment of a permanent and regular VC, went on to create a reign of terror by taking despotic decisions in policy matters, including appointments and promotions.
The court had then observed: “Every acting VC of Bihar (barring LNMU) had virtually started behaving like proverbial ‘bhisti’ (waterman) in the period of Mughal King Humayun when he, on account of saving the life of Humayun, was granted his wish of becoming the king for one day. The ‘bhisti’, in order to immortalize himself and his clan in that one day of his exercise of power as a king, had gone to make a royal proclamation of introducing and enforcing the 'sikka' (coin) of leather for the whole kingdom. Here also, all the deans who were appointed as acting VCs appear to have resorted to similar exercise of arbitrary power.”
It must be recalled that all these acting VCs had assumed their office of vice chancellor in April, 2013 when all the existing VCs' appointments made by then governor Devanand Konwar were quashed by the Supreme Court and they remained in office till the end of January, 2014.
The Chancellor’s action has raised eyebrows more in the case of Mewa Lal Choudhary as he is considered close to chief minister Nitish Kumar.
Not only that, the decision follows allegations levelled by senior BJP leader Sushil Kumar Modi against Choudhary. Needless to remind SuMo was himself the deputy chief minister-cum-finance minister of the state, when all these irregularities were committed in appointments.
The BAU had issued the advertisement in 2011 and the appointments were made in 2012.
Modi has repeatedly been accusing Nitish of shielding the JDU MLA.
