Andhra Pradesh - Visakhapatnam   

One-man panel gets down to work

By Our Special Correspondent

Members of the A.U. protection committee handing over affidavits to the HC judge, Vaman Rao. Photo: C.V.Subrahmanyam

VISAKHAPATNAM, DEC. 29. The one-man inquiry commission constituted by the Government, consisting of a retired Judge of the High Court, Vaman Rao, to probe the allegations against the Vice-Chancellor of Andhra University, Y.C. Simhadri, commenced its proceedings here on Wednesday.

As many as 72 affidavits, representations and letters were submitted to the commission. Mr. Vaman Rao announced that the next phase, oral hearings, would be held on January 19 and would continue for the next day, if necessary. This sitting was sufficient to complete the inquiry, he felt and announced that his report would be prepared and submitted to the Government as early as possible The procedure was that the copies of documents submitted to the commission by the university authorities and the complainants would be handed over to the other side for verification so that both of them would be ready for oral hearing.

Rival groups warned

The nearly four-hour proceedings saw the commission making some clarifications and also a couple of arguments between the pro- and anti-Simhadri groups, forcing Mr. Vaman Rao to give a stern warning to those present that he would not tolerate any disturbance to the inquiry was quasi-judicial. They should maintain the decorum of the proceedings, he said.

As the proceedings were coming to an end, the students, who were affected by the decisions of Prof. Simhadri, insisted that the oral hearings should commence on Wednesday itself as it would be financially difficult for them to come repeatedly to the hearings. They wanted the proceedings to be held without any further delay since the V-C's term would end in April.

Mr. Vaman Rao, after giving a patient hearing to them, explained that no inquiry procedure would permit arguments at this stage. "I understand your problem but we all have to read the documents and I can also seek clarifications, if required. Have patience,'' he told them.

The teachers, students and employees who had filed petitions against Prof. Simhadri, were not happy with the V-C engaging a noted advocate, D.V. Subba Rao, as counsel, in addition to the AU legal counsel, P.B. Vijay Kumar, who is a High Court advocate. "We cannot match their legal knowledge and skills,'' a sacked teacher, K. John, said.

Mr. Vaman Rao replied: "You tell me the facts, I will look into the law.'' He also advised the complainants to get prepared to explain how the action taken against them was wrong and unjustified and also cut down comments on the V-C.

Heated arguments

The proceedings were disturbed for a while when the Principals of campus colleges, some Deans and professors were submitting their affidavits to the commission. More trouble was witnessed when another pro-Simhadri group was with Justice Vaman Rao. The students and others questioned why outsiders should support the V-C which sparked heated arguments. This forced Justice Vaman Rao to rise from his chair and admonish both groups to maintain the decorum of the proceedings.

Printer friendly page  
Send this article to Friends by E-Mail

Andhra Pradesh

News: Front Page | National | Tamil Nadu | Andhra Pradesh | Karnataka | Kerala | New Delhi | Other States | International | Opinion | Business | Sport | Miscellaneous | Engagements |
Advts: Classifieds | Employment | Updates: Breaking News |

Stories in this Section

One-man panel gets down to work
Visakha Utsav jinxed?
Navy begins relief operations in Lanka
CPI(M) appeals against V-C
Family planning operations conducted
Around the City
In Visakhapatnam Today

Copyright © 2004, The Hindu. Republication or redissemination of the contents of this screen are expressly prohibited without the written consent of The Hindu