Patna: The weeklong protest of Chanakya National Law University (CNLU) students over the appointment of Ishwara Bhat as the new vice-chancellor of the varsity ended on Tuesday evening after Patna High Court appointed retired justice Mridula Mishra as the acting vice-chancellor.

Sources said though the students called off their strike, many protested on Wednesday wearing black badges.

Mishra, a former judge of Patna High Court will act as the VC till the varsity gets a new and regular vice-chancellor.

The students of CNLU were up in arms against the university administration since Friday after the search committee gave its nod for appointment of Ishwara Bhat, the VC of West Bengal National University of Juridical Sciences (WBNUJS), Calcutta, as new the VC of CNLU.

The students' main grievances over Bhat's appointment was his alleged tainted background.

The students said that at WBNUJS, the students were against the VC on charges of financial embezzlement, curbing students' liberties, declining quality in faculty and lack of transparency in administrative work. "As a probe committee monitored by the Supreme Court is looking into the allegations, the search committee which recommended the name of Bhat should have waited for the committee report," said Sandeep Kumar, a student of CNLU.

The students staged a dharna in front of the VC's residence and on Tuesday they also met Patna High Court Chief Justice and chancellor of CNLU, Rajendra Menon. The students pleaded before the chancellor that the Bhat's appointment will create a bad image for the varsity owing to the charges against him. The students also pleaded the chancellor not to give extension to A Laxminath, whose term expired on March 20.

The high court, apart from appointing a new acting VC of the varsity, also constituted a three-member committee which will assist the VC is taking financial and administrative decisions.

CNLU registrar SP Singh said: "The three-member panel comprising Patna High Court Justice A.K. Tripathi, Justice Anil Kumar Upadhaya and former education minister and lawyer P.K. Shahi. The acting VC will inform the committee of policy decisions relating to finance and administration. The committee members after making its recommendations will inform the chancellor."

A student of CNLU said: "On Wednesday, we attended the class wearing black badges demanding appointment of a competent person as VC who will look into our causes."