JNUTA accuses JNU administration of 'lawlessness without limits' in faculty termination case

By A Representative 

The Jawaharlal Nehru University Teachers’ Association (JNUTA) on Thursday issued a strong statement accusing the university administration of “lawlessness without limits” in its handling of the case involving Dr. Rohan Choudhari, a faculty member of the Centre for Political Studies whose termination has been challenged in court.

The JNUTA statement, dated September 18, 2025, referred to a Delhi High Court order that recorded the university’s submission that Dr. Choudhari’s termination “will be kept in abeyance” until the University Court disposed of his appeal. 

According to JNUTA, despite the appeal being submitted on September 9, no steps were taken by the administration to implement the assurance until September 15, when Dr. Choudhari filed another application before the High Court seeking clarification. The association said that only after this move did the university acknowledge his appeal, confirm his membership of the faculty, and release his pending salary.

“The termination was always a vindictive act in which the contemptuous attitude of the VC and her retinue towards statutory provisions and rules and regulations were in full display,” JNUTA said, adding that the administration’s subsequent actions showed “contempt for the Court order.”

The association also objected to the creation of a “Standing Committee for Confirmation,” which it described as a “sudden invention” without statutory backing. The notice issued to Dr. Choudhari on September 17, asking him to appear before this committee within days, was termed by JNUTA as “yet another instance of the lawlessness that has gripped the University.”

Raising broader concerns, the statement alleged that faculty promotions, particularly of women, were being delayed or denied as a means of exerting pressure. It criticized the vice chancellor’s “ruling by fear,” claiming that legitimate promotion cases had been pending for years and that some senior faculty were being forced to retire without clarity on their designation.

“As the JNUTA has already stated, the VC has lost all legitimacy among the University faculty. This will not be reclaimed by her continuing efforts at terrorizing the faculty and victimizing those who speak up,” the statement said.

The association concluded by reaffirming its support for faculty members who, in its words, “stand with their heads held high” in resisting what it described as “a vicious Administration.”