St Stephen’s College has terminated the appointments of two assistant professors who were hired during the tenure of former principal John Varghese. The decision came after a committee, formed by the new principal Susan Elias, found irregularities in the recruitment process for the Chemistry and Hindi departments.
- The two assistant professors were appointed shortly before the end of former principal John Varghese’s tenure.
- A committee reviewed all 25 appointments made in May 2026 and found anomalies in two cases.
- The Chemistry department professor resigned after the decision, while the Hindi professor was terminated after refusing to resign.
- The Hindi professor did not meet the required screening criteria, including salary structure and academic scoring rules.
- The college’s governing body approved the termination following the committee’s recommendations.
Why Were the Assistant Professors’ Appointments Reviewed?
In May 2026, just weeks before former principal John Varghese’s tenure ended, St Stephen’s College appointed 25 assistant professors across various departments. Soon after, concerns were raised about the recruitment process, leading to a legal challenge and a stay on further recruitment by the Delhi High Court. The court noted that the appointments raised important questions requiring investigation.
Delhi University also formed a committee which found that the college had violated the approved shortlisting criteria during these appointments. Following this, when Susan Elias became the new principal in June 2026, she set up a committee to review all 25 appointments in detail.
What Did the Committee Find About the Hindi Department Appointment?
The committee found that the assistant professor appointed in the Hindi department did not fulfill the screening criteria. Specifically, the candidate had not drawn a salary under the Seventh Central Pay Commission structure, which was a requirement. Additionally, the candidate had included marks from a fellowship for doctoral study in the academic score, which is against the rules. The rules state that fellowships such as Junior/Senior research fellowship or post-doctoral fellowships cannot be counted as awards for calculating academic scores.
The candidate also failed to provide a valid experience certificate showing the pay drawn, and the teaching experience claimed was found to be inaccurate. The actual academic score of the candidate was 76.67 out of 100, which was below the cutoff mark of 78 required to be called for an interview.
Based on these findings, the college issued a show-cause notice and held a personal hearing. After reviewing the evidence, the college concluded that the candidate was not eligible for the appointment and had provided incorrect information in the application.
How Did the College Respond to the Findings?
Following the committee’s recommendations, the college governing body met on September 29, 2026, and decided to take action against the two assistant professors found to have irregular appointments. The assistant professor from the Chemistry department complied with the request to resign. However, the Hindi department appointee refused to resign and was subsequently issued a termination letter on October 7, 2026.
This decision reflects the college’s commitment to maintaining transparency and adherence to recruitment norms. The review and action were part of efforts to correct irregularities from the previous administration and ensure fair faculty appointments.
