CAG Reports & RTIs reveal major recruitment scam under BJP rule in HPU -SFI
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Shimla, July 9
Fresh allegations of irregularities in faculty recruitment at Himachal Pradesh University (HPU) have resurfaced after the Students’ Federation of India (SFI) demanded a time-bound judicial inquiry into the appointment of Associate Professors in five departments, citing findings of the Comptroller and Auditor General (CAG) and documents obtained under the Right to Information (RTI) Act.
Led by state president Sunny Sekta, an SFI delegation submitted a detailed memorandum to the Vice-Chancellor through the Registrar, alleging that appointments made under Advertisement Nos. Rectt. 17/2019 and Rectt. 21/2020 in the departments of Mathematics, English, Journalism and Mass Communication, Microbiology and Sociology were prima facie in violation of the UGC Regulations, 2018.
The student body said the CAG, in its Report No. 4 of 2025, had already pointed to serious irregularities in the recruitment of 186 teachers at HPU. Despite the audit observations, it alleged that the university administration had failed to initiate any independent or judicial probe into the recruitment process.
SFI campus secretary Mukesh Kumar and campus president Ashish Kumar said the organisation has been examining recruitment records obtained through RTI after the university allegedly failed to act on repeated demands for an inquiry into appointments made during the tenure of the then Vice-Chancellor Sikandar Kumar.
According to the memorandum, the five appointments under scrutiny do not appear to satisfy the eligibility conditions prescribed under the UGC Regulations, 2018. SFI alleged that in several cases candidates lacked the mandatory eight years of teaching or research experience required for appointment as Associate Professor, while guest faculty service was allegedly counted towards eligibility despite UGC provisions excluding such experience. It also claimed that some candidates did not possess the required number of peer-reviewed research publications by the last date of application.
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The memorandum further alleged procedural lapses in the screening and selection process, including an alleged conflict of interest in one case where a retired PhD supervisor was included in the screening committee instead of a serving senior professor of the department.
SFI also accused the then Vice-Chancellor of exceeding the powers vested under the Himachal Pradesh University Act, 1970, by exercising appointment-related authority that, according to the organisation, rests with the Executive Council.
The student organisation demanded an independent and time-bound judicial inquiry into all the appointments referred to in the memorandum. It sought a review of the appointments if violations of UGC regulations or university statutes are established, recovery of salaries and other financial benefits paid in cases found to be illegal, and disciplinary as well as legal action against those responsible.
Linking the issue to the university’s finances, SFI also demanded that any fee hike imposed on students be withdrawn, arguing that the financial burden arising from alleged irregular appointments should not be passed on to students.
The university administration had not issued an official response to the allegations at the time of filing this report.
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