HNLU Vice Chancellor Sukhpal Singh resigns

RAIPUR: Vice-chancellor of Hidayatullah National Law University (HNLU) Dr Sukhpal Singh, whose continuance at the post was opposed by students on various counts, resigned on Monday.nnSingh stepped down after a number of students started an indefinite hunger strike this morning for their demand to remove the VC who was granted a five-year extension in 2016.nnStudents have been protesting since September 25 inside the varsity campus located in Atal Nagar- the upcoming capital city of Chhattisgarh against continuation of Singh.nnStudents had said they had lost faith in the “incompetent” administration and “arbitrary and discriminatory” decision making style of Singh.nnThey had also accused Singh of committing financial irregularities and not taking action in sexual harassment cases against four faculty members.nn”I offered my resignation letter to Chancellor and Chhattisgarh High Court Chief Justice AK Tripathi this evening which has been accepted”, Singh told PTI.nnHe refused to talk about the reason mentioned in his resignation letter.nnStudents have described the resignation as a victory against the “corruption and maladministration” in the university, said Harsh Bajoria, a member of the SBA.nnHe said the protest against the VC started, after he failed to give a satisfactory reply to the issues raised by the students in the general body meeting held on September 25.nnSingh had refuted the charges and termed them as “false” and “fabricated”.nnHe had claimed that some teachers of the varsity were trying to use the students to tarnish his image by levelling fake and fabricated charge.nnOn August 27 this year, the Chhattisgarh High Court had quashed the extension given to Singh as VC on the ground that the recommendation for his extension was based on a statute that had not come into effect.nnHowever, the Supreme Court stayed the order of the HC on September 20, following which Singh was reinstated.nnSingh was appointed as VC in March 2011. He was granted an extension of five years in 2016.nnSource: Press Trust of India