Panjab University V-C to take up delay in senate polls with V-P

The Panjab University (PU) will find itself with no senate from November 1 onwards as the current House’s term expires on October 31. With senators protesting against the delay in calling for the next senate elections, vice-chancellor (V-C) Renu Vig on Friday said she will take up the issue with chancellor and vice-president of India Jagdeep Dhankhar.
Speaking about the delay, Vig said the varsity had prepared election schedule for the senate elections four times and sent them to the chancellor’s office but did not get the final approval. “We will take up the matter with the chancellor regarding the senate and what’s to be done next as the term of the previous senate is now over and the varsity doesn;t have a new senate in place.”
PU had last remained without a senate for around a year between 2020 and 2021 during the Covid-19 pandemic. The senate is the apex body of the university and has the entire management of, and superintendence over the affairs, concerns and property of the university.
Vig, however, said the temporary absence of the senate is unlikely to impact the varsity’s functioning, adding, “All academic decisions can be taken in anticipation of final approval by the senate and can be ratified later.”
Notably, issues may come up with financial decisions as only the senate can approve the Board of Finance’s recommendations made in its October meeting, as per officials.
Senators have been protesting for the past couple of weeks regarding holding the senate elections. A senator associated with the protests since the beginning, IS Sidhu, said, “The senate has been carried over from the British era, even after we lost Punjab University to Pakistan. It was democratic and liked by all, only recently the authorities have had some problems related to it.”
Sidhu added that they will decide their next course of action during a meeting on Monday.
A petition regarding the senate elections was also filed in the Punjab and Haryana high court. On the hearing scheduled on October 29, the bench comprising of justice GS Sandhwalia and Meenakshi I Mehta observed, “Keeping in view the conduct of the petitioners themselves that at no stage they have objected to the residuary terms of their tenure, we are of the considered opinion that the interim relief cannot be granted to the petitioners.” The case will now come up for consideration on December 10. One of the petitioners, senator Jagwant Singh said that there is nothing to do now from their side as the matter is already in court.