The National Commission for Scheduled Castes (NCSC) has formally stepped in on allegations of irregularities in the Jawaharlal Nehru University (JNU) PhD admissions of 2021–22, a period when M. Jagadesh Kumar was serving as Vice-Chancellor.
Acting on a complaint filed by doctoral fellow Rakhohori Bag, the Commission has issued a notice to the present JNU Vice-Chancellor, Prof. Santishree Dhulipudi Pandit, seeking a detailed report on the matter.
The NCSC has directed the university to submit information along with action taken within 15 days. The Commission has further warned that in case of non-compliance, it may exercise its constitutional powers to summon the Vice-Chancellor for an appearance before the panel.
The NCSC, a constitutional body vested with the powers of a civil court, has taken the complaint seriously as it pertains to possible systematic violations of constitutional reservation norms in admissions.
Allegations of Manipulated Cut-Offs
In his complaint, Bag has alleged that during the 2021–22 PhD admissions, several candidates from Scheduled Castes (SC), Scheduled Tribes (ST), Other Backward Classes (OBC), and Economically Weaker Sections (EWS) were denied interview calls despite scoring higher marks than some general category candidates.
He further claimed that the cut-off for the general category was set lower than that for the reserved categories, directly violating the spirit and letter of the reservation policy. Bag accessed these details on the viva-voce shortlisting process through the Right to Information (RTI) Act, strengthening his claims with official data.
Institutional Discrimination Alleged
The complaint alleged that this “illegal admission policy” was consistently implemented during Jagadesh Kumar’s tenure as V-C. Bag said he had raised the issue earlier in March 2022 as an ABVP student representative, but at the time was allegedly misled and assured that no wrongdoing had taken place.
“This practice is not merely unconstitutional; it represents a silent killing of innocent and deserving candidates.
When the final score is calculated by combining written marks (70%) with viva marks (30%), denying the reservation policy even at the written stage amounts to a betrayal of justice and an attempt to erase their constitutional rights,” Bag wrote in his complaint.
He also alleged that during the viva-voce process, candidate names and categories were circulated among departments, compromising the integrity of what should have been a blind and unbiased evaluation.
He pointed to a pattern of extremely low viva marks being given to reserved category candidates, which, he argued, pointed to possible caste-based bias and institutional discrimination.
Demand for Transparency and Accountability
The doctoral fellow has demanded a thorough, independent probe into the admission process of that academic year, calling for accountability of those responsible, penalties for violations, and structural reforms to ensure transparency and fairness in future admission cycles.
University’s Response
When contacted, current JNU V-C Santishree Dhulipudi Pandit distanced herself from the allegations, stating that she was not in office during the period under question. She suggested that responsibility lay with the previous administration. Attempts to reach former V-C M. Jagadesh Kumar for comment were unsuccessful.
With the NCSC now formally intervening, the matter is expected to reignite debate over reservation policies, transparency in higher education admissions, and the persistence of caste-based discrimination within premier institutions.
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