Sacking of Visva-Bharati VC:HRD Ministry sends file with legal

Moving a step closer to the first possible sacking of a central university vice-chancellor, the HRD Ministry has sent to the President a file, along with legal opinion, favouring dismissal of Visva-Bharati VC Sushanta Dattagupta.
The file has been forwarded to President Pranab Mukherjee, who is likely to review the case only after his return from the six-day historic visit to West Asian countries including Israel and Palestine, official sources said here.
The President had last month returned the file of the HRD Ministry, which recommended sacking of Dattagupta, and had asked it to seek legal opinion before any decision could be taken on the matter.

Embroiled in a controversy over alleged financial and administrative wrongdoings, Dattagupta has offered to resign by mailing his resignation to the President. The same has been forwarded to the Human Resources Development (HRD) Ministry.
A committee, constituted by the HRD Ministry to go into the allegations levelled against Dattagupta, claimed to have found him guilty of administrative and financial wrongdoings.
The Ministry moved for Dattagupta's sacking as it was "unconvinced" by his reply to the show-cause notice issued to him in June.

Charges against Dattagupta included drawing salary from Visva-Bharati and pension from Jawaharlal Nehru University (JNU) simultaneously in alleged violation of the law.

Under the law, he was required to have got his pension amount deducted from the pay he received from Visva-Bharati.
Besides this, Dattagupta has been charged with making irregular appointments, including that of the Controller of Examinations despite having no powers, and sanctioning key posts in violation of the Visva-Bharati Act.
Though the existing laws relating to central universities do not provide for sacking of a vice-chancellor, the President can invoke section 16 of the General Clauses Act, 1987, to remove him. The Act empowers the appointing authority to suspend or dismiss any person appointed under a central act or regulation.

The three-member panel, set up by the Ministry and headed by former Allahabad High Court judge Justice (retd) S S Yadav, had reportedly found him guilty of the charges in February.
Senior Congress leader from West Bengal and Rajya Sabha MP Pradeep Bhattacharya had in June met the President to demand his removal, alleging the university was "losing its glory" under him.