New Delhi: Sushanta Duttagupta, Vice-Chancellor of the prestigious Visva Bharati may become the first head of a Central University to be sacked after Union HRD Ministry recommended his removal, holding him guilty of financial and administrative wrongdoings.
Sources in the human resource development ministry said it recommended to the President Mr Duttagupta’s removal on Monday as it was “unconvinced” by his reply to the showcause issued to him in June.
Charges against Mr Duttagupta included drawing salary from Viswa Bharati and pension from Jawaharlal Nehru University simultaneously in violation of the law.
Under the law, he was required to have got his pension amount deducted from the pay he received from Viswa Bharati. He was also accused of getting personal bills for alcoholic beverages reimbursed by the university.
Though the existing laws relating to Central Universities do not provide for sacking of a Vice-Chancellor, President Pranab Mukherjee can invoke Section 16 of the General Clauses Act, 1987, to remove him.
