NCSC chairman summons Punjabi University VC in person

NCSC chairman summons Punjabi University VC in person

Kanwar Inder Singh/ royalpatiala.in

The Chairman of National Commission for Scheduled Castes (Govt. of India),  Vijay Sampla has again summoned the Punjabi University Patiala Vice Chancellor Prof. Arvind to appear personally along with a latest action taken report and all relevant documents including the relevant files and case diaries on 30 June in his office at New Delhi. The Chairman has taken serious notice after the Vice Chancellor was failed to file replies on repeated notices and reminders of the Commission and failed to appear on 22 June on a complaint of caste-based discrimination over the denial of promotion and arrear filed by the senior Dalit officer of the university Dr. Harminder Singh Khokhar.

On 22 June, the senior official of the university had appeared before the Commission on behalf of the Vice Chancellor and requested the Chairman to exempt the Vice Chancellor from personal appearance due to some reasons. The Chairman found the grounds of the exemption from personal appearance presented by the university officials unsatisfactory and directed the Vice Chancellor to appear again on 30 June again.

In his complaint the former Indian Information Service (IIS) Officer, Dr. Harminder Singh Khokhar informed the SC Commission that he was appointed as APRO in 2001 against a permanent reserved post for SC candidate in the university and he was removed from service in 2003 as one post of APRO was abolished just to throw him out. While removing him from service the position regarding his appointment against permanent reserve post was ignored.

Dr. Khokhar further said that he was reinstated in 2008 by admitting the mistake that while abolishing the post, the fact due to this decision to abolish the post shall effect the vacancy that was reserved for SC candidate and the candidate belonging to SC category was working against this vacancy on regular basis after due process of selection, was not in the knowledge of the Syndicate.

Dr. Khokhar alleged that he was not given the pay for the period he was forced to remain out of service and has not been given a single promotion despite the completion of 20 years of service despite the approval from university’s Syndicate. He further alleged that he has not been treated equally for the payment of back wages and promotion after the reinstatement in comparison to the other general category employees, against whom serious allegations of corruption and sexual harassment were proved who were reinstated in the service with back wages and promotion, he added.

According to Dr. Khokhar the amount of his arrear was only 4 lac rupees, but the anti-dalit authorities of the university had already wasted more than that of cash-strapped university to defend this case till date.

Dr. Khokhar demanded that denying a legitimate right and placing wrong contents before the competent authority to take a lawful action against a SC person is a violation of SC & ST (POA) Act, 1989, because it was not brought to the notice of Syndicate that he was appointed on permanent reserve post, hence the persons who were responsible for placing the correct position before the Syndicate should be arrested under the section 3(1) (IX) of the SC & ST (POA) Act, 1989, he added.

June 28,2021