Jadavpur University stands accused of bending its appointment rules to confirm the service of a Trinamul teacher leader.

Gobinda Chandra Sadhukhan, an associate professor of Vidyasagar College and general secretary of the Trinamul-backed West Bengal College and University Professors' Association, was appointed director of Jadavpur University Academic Staff College in June 2014.

According to JU rules, Sadhukhan's service is to be confirmed after he completes a one-year probation period.

The staff college director retires at 60. Sadhukhan turns 60 on April 30, before completing one year in probation as director.

"Going by the rules, Sadhukhan's stint as the staff college director could never have been confirmed. But the university's executive council made an exception for him and confirmed his service on February 23, around three months before he could have completed a year in probation," a JU source said.

When contacted by Metro, Sadhukhan said he had not yet heard about the council's decision. "The university is an autonomous body," he said.

JU officials said the council decided to confirm Sadhukhan's service before the completion of his one-year probation on humanitarian grounds.

"Had he retired while being on probation, there would have been problems in releasing his pension and other retirement benefits. So the council made an exception," an official said.

Registrar Pradip Kumar Ghosh said Sadhukhan's service had been confirmed based on a unanimous decision of the executive council.

Several supporters of the Left-backed Jadavpur University Teachers' Association (Juta) attended the council meeting but sources said all but one kept silent when the proposal was approved.

Juta later said it would launch an agitation against the council's decision.

"It's surprising that the Juta is planning to launch an agitation. Its supporters allowed the authorities to adopt the resolution by being silent when the issue was discussed at the executive council meeting," a source said.

Juta leaders refused to comment when asked why they refrained from fighting the proposal at the meeting.

Sources said had Sadhukhan's service not been confirmed and had he retired in probation, he could not have been considered for re-employment after retirement.

In order to avoid the problem, Sadhukhan had the option of rejoining Vidyasagar College as associate professor. "But that would have been a demotion in his case. Because of his proximity to Trinamul, the party did not want him to face the embarrassment and wanted him to continue as director till his retirement," said a JU official.

Sadhukhan was appointed director of the staff college during Abhijit Chakrabarti's tenure as vice-chancellor.

The job of the academic staff college is to organise various orientation programmes and refresher courses for teachers of the university.

One of the main duties of the director is to arrange resource persons for conducting the refresher courses.

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