South Asian University (SAU) on Thursday terminated the services of a faculty member for opposing its decision to call police to the campus to take action on protesting students in 2022.

The international university catering to seven Saarc nations issued a termination order to Snehashish Bhattacharya, associate professor of economics, an action decried by academics as “arbitrary”.

The university order stated its executive council had taken the decision based on the findings of a disciplinary committee. Bhattacharya was issued a showcause notice last month and his response was “unsatisfactory”, the order stated.

In December 2023, the university refused to renew the services of contractual faculty member Irfanullah Farooqi, ending his association with the institution.

Bhattacharya, Farooqi and two other faculty members were suspended by the university in June 2023 on the charge that they had made unfounded allegations against the university and endorsed the students’ protest.

Over 500 eminent academics from universities across the globe had sought the intervention of the foreign ministers of the Saarc nations to seek the revocation of suspension.

The international university, set up to promote the education of South Asians, has India shouldering capital investments and half of the operational costs, leaving the rest to be shared by the other seven Saarc nations. It offers undergraduate, Master’s and PhD courses to students of these nations.

A faculty member of SAU said the university’s actions had been biased and arbitrary from the beginning. The inclusion of the proctor in the disciplinary panel amounted to a conflict of interest, the member said, adding that Bhattacharya had not committed any wrong in opposing the university’s decision to call the police since it affects the academic atmosphere on the campus.

Students of the university protested in October 2022, demanding representation in forums that deal with sexual harassment and raising the stipend amount. The university expelled five students without any proctorial inquiry. It also called the police onto the campus. The four faculty members had opposed the entry of the police and the expulsion of the students without due procedure.