Guv declares JU convocation ‘illegal’, directs V-C to halt court meet

Kolkata: After dubbing the Jadavpur University’s (JU) annual convocation, scheduled to be held on December 24, as ‘illegal’, Governor CV Ananda Bose, who is also the Chancellor of the university, has instructed the officiating vice-chancellor (V-C) Bhaskar Gupta not to hold the meeting of ‘Court’, scheduled to take place at 9:45 am on the day of the convocation.

In a letter sent on Monday night, Bose cited non-compliance with university statutes, stating that the process of holding the convocation had been compromised.

However, despite Bose’s objections, JU officials confirmed that the convocation will proceed as scheduled, arguing that rescheduling would be logistically difficult given that over 3,500 students are set to receive their degrees.

A university official remarked, “Postponing is not a viable option as many students have already made travel arrangements.”

The convocation date was set following an Executive Council (EC) meeting on December 17.

However, the Governor expressed concerns about the hasty scheduling and the university’s failure to seek his approval for the date.

V-C Gupta had met the Governor on Friday to clarify the situation, but the Governor deemed his explanation ‘unacceptable’ in a follow-up letter on December 21.