Patiala: Punjabi University syndicate has ordered the withholding of one annual increment with cumulative effect of a department of physical education professor after two inquiries held him guilty of misconduct and financial irregularities linked to alleged misuse of University Grants Commission (UGC) scholarship funds.
An internal inquiry conducted by department of law professor Gurpreet Kaur Pannu held the faculty member guilty of the charges. The university then ordered an independent external probe led by retired Justice Jora Singh. It concluded that the professor’s actions amounted to a “punishable offence,” citing mala fide intent to defraud the UGC and facilitate the wrongful withdrawal of scholarship funds.
The case involved two PhD scholars under the professor’s supervision. The probe found that both scholars received research scholarships while holding full-time govt positions, one as an assistant professor in Fatehgarh Sahib and the other as a regular patwari in Shaheed Bhagat Singh Nagar.
According to the inquiry report, it was “physically impossible” for the scholars to maintain attendance at the university while fulfilling their official duties elsewhere. Attendance records authenticated by the professor were deemed falsified, leading to the continued disbursal of scholarship funds.
Vice-chancellor Jagdeep Singh could not be contacted despite repeated attempts.
The professor, who is contesting the presidential election of the Punjab University Teachers Association (PUTA), denied wrongdoing and described the action as politically motivated.
“This is a matter from 2016 that was resolved years ago after an internal inquiry by Dr Pannu. The students admitted their lapse in not informing the department about their outside engagement and returned approximately Rs 3.2 lakh directly to the UGC. The university did not suffer any financial loss. As head of the department, I merely forwarded their recommendation forms,” he stated.
Alleging personal enmity, he claimed that reopening the case through a one-man inquiry was aimed at defaming him ahead of the Puta elections.
“It is not possible for a teacher to monitor a student round-the-clock. We followed due procedure regarding attendance. The scholars are continuing their PhDs, which itself disproves allegations of a ‘scam’. We have not yet received the official orders, but once we do, we are prepared to challenge the decision in court,” he added.
