NEW DELHI: The teachers’ association and the students’ union of JNU have declared a joint “public inquiry” against university vice chancellor Santishree Dhulipudi Pandit, beginning Monday on campus at the Sabarmati lawns.
This follows a recent student referendum conducted by the JNU Students’ Union (JNUSU), with a vast majority of those who voted voting that they wanted the VC to resign.
The JNUSU and the JNU Teachers’ Association (JNUTA) will present their “chargesheet” against the VC on Monday and Wednesday, respectively.
The “chargesheets” will be presented “before a panel of public figures from different walks of life. An oral presentation of the case will accompany a written submission that will include all relevant documents,” JNUTA said in a statement on Friday.
Over 90 per cent of the 2,400-odd students who cast their votes voted in favour of VC Santishree Dhulipudi Pandit’s resignation. A section of the students and faculty members claimed that there were over 9,000 eligible voters and most of them refrained from taking part in the exercise.
The university and the students’ union have been at loggerheads over multiple controversies. The campus has witnessed continued protests since early February after the university suspended four JNUSU office-bearers, along with former JNUSU president Nitish Kumar, for two semesters.
The suspensions were issued for “extensive damage to university property” during a November 21, 2025, protest at the Dr B R Ambedkar Central Library.
The controversy triggered protests demanding revocation of the suspension order and clashes between student groups. Jawaharlal Nehru University Teachers’ Association said the public inquiry aims to present the situation at Jawaharlal Nehru University and allow the administration to present its defence before a final report is released.