In a significant development, the Allahabad High Court has called upon the Vice Chancellor of Banaras Hindu University (BHU) to explain the prolonged delay in the promotion of an assistant professor. The court directed the VC to submit a personal affidavit detailing the reasons for not implementing a promotion resolution passed over three years ago.
Justice Rohit Ranjan Agarwal issued the order on Wednesday, responding to a petition by Dr. Sushil Kumar Dubey, an Assistant Professor in the Department of Ayurved at the Institute of Medical Sciences, BHU. Despite a clear resolution by the Executive Council of BHU on June 4, 2021, promoting Dr. Dubey from Assistant Professor Stage 2 to Stage 3, the decision has yet to be enacted, leaving the professor without the benefits of his due promotion.
During the proceedings, the counsel for the BHU Vice Chancellor argued the need to revisit the resolution in light of a letter from the University Grants Commission dated February 23, 2021. The letter in question calls into question whether Dr. Dubey had completed five continuous years at his current stage, a prerequisite for the promotion.
The high court, unimpressed by the delay, noted prima facie evidence suggesting that the Vice Chancellor’s failure to act might be deliberate. The court has now set October 15 as the next hearing date, by which the Vice Chancellor is expected to provide a satisfactory explanation for the administrative inertia that has unjustly stalled a deserving academic’s career progression.
