Breaking: Former NLU Delhi Registrar Prof GS Bajpai appointed Vice-Chancellor of RGNUL, Patiala

Prof GS Bajpai, who formerly served as Registrar of National Law University, Delhi, has been appointed Vice-Chancellor of Rajiv Gandhi National University of Law (RGNUL) Patiala.

Prof Bajpai will begin his five-year team on Friday May 21.

Confirming his appointment to Bar & Bench, Prof Bajpai said,

"RGNUL is already a fast-growing institution. My priority is too see that it is made into a research intensive institution, as my forte is research. I will also aim to achieve excellence in faculty development and student initiatives. We have plans that we will implement to make RGNUL one of the best institutions in the country."

Prof Bajpai succeeds Prof Paramjit Jaswal, who resigned as RGNUL VC late last year after serving for almost a decade. As of November 30 last year, Prof Anand Pawar had been serving as the officiating Vice-Chancellor of RGNUL.

The final leg of Prof Jaswal's time at RGNUL saw rising friction between the administration and the students, spilling over to student protests in 2019 over the controversial actions of Administrative Officer SP Singh, who eventually resigned from his post.

Prof Bajpai himself encountered a tumultuous last few months at NLU Delhi, having faced a petition filed in the Delhi High Court to remove him from the post of Registrar.

The petitioner had claimed that Prof Bajpai was removed from National Law Institute University, Bhopal in 2011 after he was accused of serious misconduct.

However, in 2011-12, NLU Delhi Founding Vice-Chancellor Prof Ranbir Singh appointed Prof Bajpai as a Professor after ignoring his disqualification and without following any process for a public appointment, the petitioner claimed.

It was also alleged that Prof Bajpai does not hold any law degree and is thus ineligible to hold any post of law teacher in India. The petitioner thus challenged his appointment as Registrar in 2014 in view of Section 21 of the National Law University, Delhi Act, 2007.

The High Court, however, held that Prof was duly qualified to be appointed as Registrar, and disposed of the petition seeking his removal. Finding no substance in the allegations, the High Court held that the eligibility criteria had not listed a degree in LL.B/LL.M as mandatory pre-requisites.

Prof Bajpai was relieved of his duties as Registrar of NLU Delhi in January this year, having come to the end of his tenure.