Things got worse at Mumbai University on Friday when its registrar, K Venkatramani, was suspended by acting vice-chancellor, Chandra Krishnamurthy, over irregularities in the 2008 senate elections. The varsity is already struggling to find a new vice-chancellor after the first attempt was declared void.
LR Mane, who was the deputy registrar earlier, has been brought back. “The normal practice is that suspension is followed by an inquiry. The same can be expected in this case,” said a university senate member. Venkatramani could not be reached for comments.
According to Krishnamurthy, the decision is a result of the order of governor and chancellor of state universities, K Sankaranarayanan. Declaring the election of Subhash Athavale as a senate member of Mumbai University null and void, Sankaranarayanan had implicated RD National College principal Dinesh Panjwani, university registrar K Venkatramani, and former pro-vice-chancellor AD Sawant in the matter.
Sankaranarayanan’s March 5 order said that Venkatramani failed
in his duties by accepting Athavale’s nomination. “The registrar being the returning officer for conducting the said elections, has failed in his duties by accepting the nomination form of Athavale at the scrutiny level, when he was not eligible... I place on record my displeasure with the acts of omission and commission of the registrar. I direct the vice-chancellor to initiate proceedings against the registrar for punitive action,” Sankaranarayanan’s order had decreed.
Krishnamurthy had terminated Venkatramani’s services through a letter in November last, but the Mumbai University and College Tribunal annulled it stating that the letter is “illegal and bad in law”.
This is the second time that a Mumbai University registrar has been pulled up for mismanagement of the electoral process of the senate.
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