The Andhra Pradesh High Court on Wednesday ordered the state government to immediately withdraw its suspension orders and reinstate P Kusuma Kumari, the sacked the Vice-Chancellor of Sri Krishnadevaraya University (Anantapur).
The High Court order has given partial relief to Kusuma Kumari since she was directed not to discharge her duties till further orders.
The Court also ordered the state government to provide all facilities to the sacked VC.
The directive came after it agreed with Kusuma Kumari's petition that she was not given a chance to offer her clarifications to the findings of the one-man Justice Hanumanthu Committee's Report.
She had also contended that the government had ordered her removal without even giving her an opportunity to explain the accusations made against her.
"The government heard only the executive council, and sacked me after it received the one-man Hanumanthu Committee's Report," she said, and sought a stay on the government orders of her removal immediately.
The court, in its interim orders, directed the government to ask the VC to continue in her post till further orders.
The Court further ordered the government to give a copy of the Justice Hanumanthu Committee's Report to Kusumu Kumari, and also directed the VC to offer her explanations over the findings in the report within 30 days.
Kusuma Kumari was sacked on August 2, after the state government had accepted the recommendations of the Justice Hanumanthu Committee Report - the report stated that she had appointed 23 assistant professors to posts in the SKU bypassing government rules and regulations, besides indulging in misappropriation of university funds and taking arbitrary decisions - and issued orders removing her from the post.
Apart from the appointment of assistant professors, Kusuma Kumari was also accused of violating the financial code and the UGC Act, by spending Rs. 50 lakh for 'maintenance' of her official residence while the budget allotted for the purpose was Rs. 17 lakh.
She was also charged with spending another Rs. 50 lakh for publicity on distance education, when the budget allotted for the purpose was only Rs. 15 lakh.
This was the first time in the state's history that government had removed a Vice-Chancellor of any university.
Her removal led to accusations by Kadapa MP Y S Jaganmohan Reddy's supporters that she was sacked due to her closeness to the Jagan camp.
Courtesy: INN
filed in:Sri Krishnadevaraya University, Kusuma Kumari, Andhra Pradesh High Court