Almost a year after appointing Dr C Basavaraju as the Registrar (administration) of Mysore University, the state government has now realised that he was not eligible for the post and withdrew the order.
On March 29, the state Department of Higher Education issued an order withdrawing the appointment order of Dr C Basavaraju as Registrar of Mysore University, which was issued on June 24, 2013. The copy of the withdrawal order which is available with Express says, “Dr C Basavaraju was appointed as professor in 2007 direct selection and the board of appointments had not confirmed his probationary period as professor when he had been appointed as registrar. Following this, the government is withdrawing the order issued on June 24, 2013.”
The order also mentioned about the irregularities in 2007 direct appointments and about the report submitted by a one-man commission.
As per the rule, Dr C Basavaraju’s probationary period as a professor was not cleared by the board of appointments when he was appointed as registrar. Following the irregularities during 2007 appointments, the probationary declaration was not made.
When contacted, Prof K S Rangappa, Vice-Chancellor, Mysore University, said, “No decisions were taken by Dr C Basavaraju when he was the registrar without consulting me. Now, the charge has been given to registrar (evaluation). The order has been withdrawn following a petition filed in High Court.”
But, the experts from the field question the state government’s blind eye while appointing him. Dr M S Thimmappa, former V-C, Bangalore University, said, “Such things happen when people act under pressure. The government should not take hasty decisions.”
“How can the government appoint a registrar for a state university without checking the status of his probationary period? Now, order is withdrawn only because they need to answer to the court,” said another former vice-chancellor.
It was also mentioned in the order that Dr C Basavaraju was not eligible to become the registrar according to section 17 of Karnataka State Universities Act 2000.
Section 17 mentions about the appointment of registrar (administration), qualifications and duties of the registrar.
However, the officials of higher education department were not available for comment.