Registrar on leave; VC, Finance Officer  misused office, alleges Syndicate Member

Mysore/Mysuru: Dr. T.R. Chandrashekar, Syndicate Member of the University of Mysore, has levelled fresh allegations against Vice-Chancellor Prof. N.K. Lokanath and Finance Officer M.J. Manjunath, accusing them of misusing the office of Registrar M.K. Savitha, who is currently on leave.

Reacting to the developments at the recent Syndicate meeting, where it was decided to approach the Governor seeking action against him within the ambit of law, Chandrashekar alleged that the Vice-Chancellor and the Finance Officer, who is currently in charge of the Registrar’s office, had no legal authority to initiate disciplinary proceedings against him.

“Having been appointed by the Governor as a Syndicate Member, I am discharging my duties to protect the University’s assets, public money and the interests of students. I have already made public, along with supporting documents, how tenders worth crores of rupees were floated without legal sanctity. Instead of probing these irregularities, the Syndicate has decided to seek action against me by misusing the Registrar’s office,” he said.

Chandrashekar pointed out that Registrar Savitha has been on a 10-day leave since May 7 and stated that, in her absence, Finance Officer Manjunath could only oversee routine administration and was not empowered to make decisions on important matters.

He further alleged that Manjunath, acting on the instructions of the Vice-Chancellor, had issued a press release on May 7 without proper authority.

Chandrashekar also claimed that the Registrar herself had clarified to sections of the media that she had not authorised the release of any such statement.

Describing the move as arbitrary, Chandrashekar said the unilateral action amounted to misuse of the identity and office of a senior University official.