PU proposes by-election for vacant senate seat

One Tarun Ghai had been elected to the PU senate from the constituency of teachers of affiliated colleges in August last year; however, vice-chancellor Raj Kumar declared him ineligible in November.

Panjab University (PU) has proposed a by-election for a seat in the senate which is currently vacant.

The schedule of the by-election will be placed before PU syndicate in its next meeting, following which a final decision will be taken. (HT File)

One Tarun Ghai had been elected from the constituency of teachers of affiliated colleges in August last year. However, vice-chancellor (V-C) Raj Kumar declared him ineligible in November.

The schedule of the by-election will be placed before PU syndicate in its next meeting, following which a final decision will be taken. As per the proposed schedule, the by-election will be held on December 11.

Ghai had been terminated from his job as an assistant professor by the managing committee of SPN College, Mukerian, in June, which rendered him ineligible for election. He was not reinstated by the college management, even after PU’s directions to revoke his termination.

In July, the office of Vice-President of India, who is the PU chancellor, had written to the varsity regarding filling the vacant seat. Afterwards, the varsity had sought a legal opinion in the matter.

The syndicate will also take a decision on the report of a committee, which was formed to conduct an inquiry into the fire incident at the accounts branch of the administrative block in May 2017.