A central university in Bihar has directed faculty and staff members to file complaints through non-judicial stamp paper in the form of an affidavit, becoming the first varsity in the country to pass such a directive.

Mahatma Gandhi Central University (MGCU), Motihari, issued two official orders on February 13 to state that the faculty and staff members must send their requests, complaints or grievances through proper channels instead of writing directly to the authorities.

The first order stated that members had to write to their immediate reporting authority who would forward the letters to the officer on special duty (OSD) with inputs. The OSD, in turn, would send the letters to the authorities along with his inputs.

In the second order, the university has stated that any complaint or allegation should be submitted on a non-judicial stamp paper in the form of an affidavit duly signed and notarised, along with all supporting documentary evidence. A copy of the identity proof of the complainant must be attached to the complaint.

The orders come at a time when the university has published advertisements for the recruitment of 33 staff members out of which two positions are reserved for socially deprived sections. According to the rules, Scheduled Castes (SCs), Scheduled Tribes (STs), Other Backward Classes (OBCs) and Economically Weaker Sections are entitled to 15 per cent, 7.5 per cent, 27 per cent and 10 per cent reservation.

Rajesh Jha, a former executive council member of Delhi University, said there was no provision for filing complaints through affidavits in any university. He said the process might have been introduced by the MGCU to vet the complaints and take severe action against the complainant if any information provided by them was found to be incorrect.

"This is a case of curtailing academic freedom. The faculty members complain on a variety of issues. The requirement of non-judicial stamp paper for filing a complaint means faculty members should not dare complain. This procedure is fine in courts but not healthy in academic institutions," Jha said.

Rajeev Kumar, a former faculty member of Jawaharlal Nehru University (JNU), said there was nothing wrong in filing complaints through proper channels. If the university is asking for affidavits and address proof, it must deal with complaints seriously, he said.

"When filed through proper channels, the intermediary officer sits on complaints indefinitely in case his interest is affected. The university should have assured that an intermediary officer would forward the complaint to the next authority within a particular time frame. If you are asking for affidavits, you should be serious about redressing grievances," Kumar said.

The university has defended its action.

Prasoon Dutta Singh, dean of the School of Humanities and Languages at the MGCU, said the move would help the varsity address and resolve problems quickly and without unnecessary delay.

"Further, the faculty members need not worry about their academic and functional freedom because the university runs in a democratic manner by sticking to rules/regulations/Ordinances. The interest of all stakeholders are taken care of by the university in its day-to-day functionalities," he said.