RGNUL faculty allege misconduct by Vice-Chancellor, give University 48-hour notice to resolve issues

Faculty members at Rajiv Gandhi National University of Law (RGNUL), Patiala have given the University a 48-hour notice seeking the Chancellor's intervention in its functioning.

In an email sent to Vice-Chancellor (VC) Prof (Dr) Jai S Singh on August 10, the faculty members expressed concern over his recent decision to promote a member of the faculty, which they alleged had overlooked applicable orders and established norms of transparency.

The faculty has sought the intervention of RGNUL Chancellor, currently Justice Ashwani Kumar Mishra, Acting Chief Justice of the Punjab and Haryana High Court, or his nominee. Failing this, the faculty said that they would withdraw from routine institutional work and eventually proceed to a "pen-down strike."

In the email, the faculty said that new administrative mandates and directions had, over the past couple of years, "increasingly been introduced or implemented without adequate consultation with the concerned stakeholders, without clear institutional rationale, and, in several instances, without adherence to established procedures, precedents or principles of transparency and fairness."

This, the faculty said, had created an atmosphere of uncertainty, apprehension and diminishing institutional confidence among them.

A meeting between the faculty and the VC, held in the presence of the Deans of Academic Affairs and Research, followed the notice but remained inconclusive. Allegedly, the VC responded to the concerns raised by saying that he would ensure that a fund of nearly ₹1 crore, sanctioned for a Chair under the Ministry of Consumer Affairs, was sent back.

This is not the first time Singh's conduct as Vice-Chancellor has drawn scrutiny. In September 2024, RGNUL saw over two weeks of student protests after Singh allegedly entered the girls' hostel without prior notice and made remarks about the residents' clothing. Students at the time also wrote to the Chancellor demanding his resignation. The Punjab State Women's Commission recommended his immediate removal and the Punjab Human Rights Commission filed a complaint over the incident.

Even as Singh denied any wrongdoing, the University briefly shut down amid the protests before reopening. He has continued in office since and was nominated by the Central government to the National Legal Services Authority in December 2025.

Speaking to Bar & Bench, several faculty members described various concerns.

On academics, they alleged that the quality of both undergraduate and postgraduate teaching had declined. They claimed that the VC had pushed to keep the curriculum at what they described as a senior-secondary, or "+2," level. They also pointed to a sharp rise in LL.D. degrees being awarded without any defined area of focus.

Faculty members alleged that the VC's office operated in an opaque manner, with confidential communications reportedly reaching staff members with no connection to the matters concerned. They also alleged serious irregularities in promotions, claiming that several faculty members had been due for promotion since as early as 2022, while one faculty member was promoted again barely a year after a previous promotion and continued to take on administrative roles outside the usual process.

They also alleged a pattern of inappropriate remarks by the VC towards women colleagues. Among the instances cited, they alleged that the VC had once told a faculty member to "keep her husband happy". They also alleged that when women faculty members visited his office, he would sometimes cover his face and say he would not look at them to avoid a complaint before the Internal Complaints Committee (ICC).

On appointments, faculty members alleged that the Vice-Chancellor frequently bypassed the Registrar and Deans. They pointed to the case of a foreign national, said to hold a Master's degree in history and political science but no doctoral degree, whom the VC was keen to appoint as international visiting faculty in the Department of Political Science after meeting him on a flight.

Faculty members also alleged that a person from Punjabi University, Patiala, had been appointed and was being encouraged to consult on University matters despite having prior sexual harassment complaints against him. Separately, they alleged that a distinguished professor had been appointed without faculty being informed of the process or policy involved, the appointment coming to light only through an official order.