The Hindu College Staff Association and students have been holding a dharna since 14th September 2026, demanding accountability from the college administration over alleged procedural violations in supernumerary admissions and a broader pattern of governance concerns.
DU Beat warmly acknowledges Scribe, the Literary Society of Hindu College, whose detailed documentation of the ongoing issue has been an invaluable reference in the reporting of this piece.
Since 14 September 2026, the Hindu College Staff Association (HCSA) and students have been sitting on a dharna on campus. The protest was triggered by alleged procedural violations in the supernumerary quota admission process in August. The association had passed a unanimous vote of No Confidence against Principal Prof. Anju Shrivastava, and in response, the Governing Body issued show-cause notices to three faculty members, including the HCSA President, Secretary and a senior faculty member. The HCSA’s demands include the withdrawal of these notices, accountability for the admissions irregularities, and adherence to statutory governance norms by the administration.
In supernumerary admissions through ECA and sports, the Bulletin of Information states that no single undergraduate programme must have more than 20% of the total supernumerary seats. However, according to Scribe, the Literary Society of Hindu College’s Substack, two courses, B.A. (Honours) Political Science and B.Com (Honours), exceeded the 20% statutory cap for a single course. The society also claims that once the TICs identified the aberration, there were procedural delays from both the Principal and the DU Dean of Admissions in rectifying the issue. The issue was credited to an algorithmic error, which the students claim is mathematically unfeasible. This has also raised questions amongst students as to whether similar irregularities may have occurred previously without detection.
On the final day of the college verification round for admissions, 14 August 2026, the Principal called for an urgent Council Meeting with the Staff Council Secretary, Dr Chandrachur Singh. The Staff Council Secretary proposed convening the next day, adducing statutes demanding a 24-hour formal notice before a meeting. Since the portal closed at 5 pm that day, the list was finalised in breach of the 20% limit. At approximately 7 pm on 14th August, a Google Meet link was circulated on the HCSA WhatsApp group by a faculty member without administrative standing, with around 50 faculty members contacted via private calls. The HCSA Secretary and Convener of Academic Affairs were reportedly not included. The consensus arrived at through this meeting was allegedly used to clear the disputed admission list.
On 18th August 2026, the HCSA convened a general body meeting attended by 80 to 85 members, representing permanent faculty across departments. The meeting concluded with a unanimous vote of no confidence against Principal Prof. Anju Shrivastava. Copies were submitted to the Vice-Chancellor, the Dean of Colleges, and Governing Body Chairman Mr T.C.A. Rangachari.
Chairman Rangachari allegedly publicly stated that he does not recognise the HCSA, a body that has existed for over seventy years. Show-cause notices were subsequently issued to three faculty members, including HCSA President Dr Ratan Lal, Secretary Dr Shankar Kumar, and senior faculty member Dr P.K. Vijayan, for alleged code of conduct violations.
The dharna has witnessed widespread participation, but the students have expressed feeling intimidated by the administration, with non-teaching staff holding up cameras in meetings meant for a dialogue between the Principal and the students.
“The dharna is going pretty strong, with many students coming up every day to support the cause. However, there seems to be a division in interest towards the protest, with many departments boycotting it. There have been alleged calls from the Administration to the parents of the students who are participating in the protest. There have been alleged claims that the professors of some departments are telling students not to take part in it. Nevertheless, the protest has brought forward several important issues, especially the tyrannical behaviour of the administration and the havoc it creates in students’ lives, and it indeed needs to be paid attention to,” a second-year student at Hindu College told DU Beat.
The admissions controversy has brought to the surface a longer-running dispute over governance at Hindu College. Under DU’s Ordinance XVIII, Clause 6(3), the Principal is required to function as “Principal-in-Council” on matters that fall within the Staff Council’s domain; meaning executive decisions on such matters cannot be taken unilaterally. Clause 6(e) of the same ordinance further mandates that the Principal implement all decisions of the Staff Council. According to the HCSA, these provisions have been routinely disregarded. The Staff Council Secretary has, by the association’s account, written over 100 letters to the Principal requesting compliance with statutory requirements, including the convening of mandatory semester meetings and the maintenance of signed minutes on record. The association alleges that these communications have gone largely unacknowledged.
The midnight Google Meet of 14th August is cited by the HCSA as emblematic of this pattern: a meeting convened without statutory notice, bypassing the elected Secretary and Convener of Academic Affairs, and used to generate consent for a decision that the faculty body had not formally deliberated upon.
Students have voiced concerns about the campus environment alongside the faculty’s governance grievances. Annual fees and on-campus hostel charges, according to students, exceed what comparable private paying guest accommodations in the area cost.
Beyond fees, students allege a pattern of administrative overreach into routine aspects of campus life. Women’s washrooms are reportedly locked at 4:00 pm, despite classes running until 4:50 pm. Security personnel allegedly clear the lawns and library at the same hour, effectively restricting student access to common spaces before the academic day has ended.
More seriously, some faculty members have alleged that students have been deployed inside classrooms to covertly record lectures delivered by faculty members associated with the protest, including Dr Ratan Lal and Dr Shankar. The HCSA has described this as an attempt to surveil and intimidate dissenting voices within the institution.
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Image Source: Scribe, the Literary Society of Hindu College
Rishika Jain
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