DU panel flags irregularities in St Stephen's College faculty recruitment

A Delhi University committee has flagged violations of shortlisting criteria in the recruitment of assistant professors at St Stephen's College and recommended that the institution follow the university's recruitment rules and regulations.

The committee, constituted following deliberations at the university's Executive Council meeting on April 29, 2026, concluded that the college had made appointments in violation of the shortlisting criteria approved by the university's statutory bodies, according to its report.

The college maintained that the university's shortlisting criteria were advisory in nature and that, as a minority institution, it could determine the mode and manner of selecting teachers.

The Committee report, however, stated that the deviations had allegedly allowed candidates who would otherwise have been ineligible to be shortlisted for interviews.

The committee recommended that St Stephen's College, as a constituent college of Delhi University, follow the university's recruitment rules to maintain uniformity and consistency in the appointment of teachers.

The university had, through a letter dated April 29, advised the college to refrain from issuing appointment letters while the matter was examined. A five-member committee was subsequently constituted under the chairmanship of Prof Inder Mohan Kapahy.

The committee held meetings on May 7 and May 29 and sought details from the college regarding its shortlisting criteria, the list of shortlisted candidates and their Academic Performance Indicator (API) scores, as well as reasons for not following the university-approved criteria.

The report said the college did not provide the requested information despite reminders issued by the university.

St Stephen's College, in its response, maintained that as a minority institution, it could determine the mode and manner of selecting teachers.

It also cited the University Grants Commission's 2018 regulations, which state that the number of candidates called for interviews is to be decided by the college.

The committee, however, reiterated that the shortlisting criteria approved by the university's statutory bodies were binding on constituent colleges.

The report raised concerns over the recruitment process, including the non-disclosure of shortlisting criteria and evaluation methodology for essay writing, presentations and interviews until after the screening process had been completed.

It also noted that the college had shortlisted 234 candidates for three unreserved assistant professor vacancies and 11 candidates for one vacancy reserved for persons with benchmark disabilities in the Philosophy department.

According to the report, the college later disclosed that 70 candidates would be shortlisted for each unreserved vacancy and set a departmental cut-off score of 50 for Philosophy, against the university-prescribed minimum academic score of 55.

The committee further flagged concerns over the use of research publications for screening, stating that the college's criteria differed from the university's standard operating procedure on publications considered for eligibility and screening.

The report also noted that the college declared recruitment results on the night of May 9 and allowed selected candidates to join on May 11, even as the committee's examination was pending.

On May 13, the Delhi High Court directed that the recommendations of the selection committee under the relevant recruitment advertisement should not be implemented without the court's leave, the report said.

It alleged that the college continued the joining process and assigned invigilation duties to selected candidates despite the court's order.

"For maintaining uniformity and consistency in the appointment of teachers, the Delhi University Act, 1922 vests the power of appointment and recognition of teachers in the University. Accordingly, St. Stephen's College, as a constituent college of the University of Delhi, is required to follow the University's recruitment rules and regulations," the committee said as part of its recommendations.