In an emergent meeting of the JNU Executive Council held today, the varsity appointed Chintamani Mohapatra professor at the School of International Studies as the Rector.
Terming the appointments a "strictly routine" affair, JNU Registrar Bhupinder Zutshi told PTI, "While Mohapatra has been appointed the Rector, professor Prasanjit Sen who was currently holding the position has been granted extension of one month to facilitate the transition face".
Zutshi, who himself is officiating as Registrar, is due to retire from this position on March 31 but he will continue to be a professor in the varsity.
The decisions taken in the meeting have left a section of students and teachers disappointed who have been demanding the Registrar's removal over handling of the current row at the university.
"For the past one week students and teachers have been demanding the removal of the Registrar but the administration has not paid any heed to our demands. This shows that there is some kind of larger conspiracy by the administration to act against the students," a member of JNU Teachers Association (JNUTA) said.
"We wanted the Vice Chancellor to take action against the Registrar for misguiding him in the way February 9 incident should have been handled," said JNU student's union vice president Shehla Rashid Shora.
Jawaharlal Nehru University is caught in a row over an event on the campus to commemorate the hanging of Parliament attack convict Afzal Guru, where "anti-national" slogans were allegedly raised.
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Saurabh Kumar Sharma, JNUSU Joint Secretary, who is the lone ABVP member in the varsity's students union, today filed a complaint against the Dean of Students Welfare for having granted permission for the February 9 event despite the application not having all the required information.