Shimla: The Communist Party of India (Marxist) has opposed the proposed Bill seeking to transfer the recruitment of teachers in state universities, including Himachal Pradesh University (HPU), from the universities to the Himachal Pradesh Public Service Commission (HPPSC).
The CPM said the proposed change should not be used as a substitute for investigating alleged corruption and irregularities in university recruitment. It urged the Congress government to instead order an independent judicial inquiry into the recruitment process and fix responsibility wherever violations are established.
The party’s Himachal Pradesh unit cited the CAG Compliance Audit Report No. 4 of 2025, covering the period ending March 2023, which raised concerns over the functioning of HPU. According to the report, the university recruited 186 teachers during 2020–23.
The CAG observed that HPU had not provided records showing verification of EWS certificates, educational qualifications and other supporting documents from the concerned issuing authorities.
The audit also pointed to alleged violations of UGC regulations, including the appointment of an Assistant Professor who did not possess the required qualification on the closing date of applications and the appointment of a guest faculty member who did not meet the prescribed eligibility criteria.
The CPM said the issue should not be reduced to a political confrontation between the BJP and Congress. It alleged that questions over political interference, institutional accountability and compliance with recruitment norms had arisen under successive governments.
“Accountability cannot change according to which political party is in power,” the party said, demanding that the BJP explain recruitment decisions and alleged irregularities during its tenure. It also questioned the present Congress government over its failure to institute an independent inquiry despite having raised allegations of illegal and irregular appointments while in opposition.
The party has demanded a time-bound judicial inquiry headed by a sitting or retired High Court judge into the 186 appointments made between 2020 and 2023. It said the inquiry should examine the eligibility of each appointee, verification of EWS and educational certificates, compliance with UGC regulations, the functioning of Screening-cum-Evaluation and Selection Committees, and the role of the Vice-Chancellor and other statutory authorities.
The CPM also called for an investigation into any political or administrative interference in the recruitment process.
Referring to the CAG report, the party said HPU faced a 27–37 per cent faculty shortage during 2020–23, making it important to establish whether recruitment was carried out strictly according to law, UGC regulations and academic norms.
The CPM cautioned the government against using alleged recruitment irregularities as a justification for curtailing the academic autonomy of universities. It argued that if corruption, malpractice or violations of recruitment rules had occurred, the appropriate response was investigation, prosecution and punishment of those responsible rather than transferring recruitment powers from universities to another institution.
The party also demanded that the government place the matter before the Himachal Pradesh Legislative Assembly, make relevant records available for scrutiny, act on the CAG observations and initiate recovery and legal proceedings wherever wrongdoing is established.
State CPM secretary Sanjay Chauhan said neither the BJP nor the Congress should be allowed to escape accountability if recruitment rules were violated.
The party reiterated its demand that the proposed move to transfer university teacher recruitment to HPPSC be stopped and that an independent judicial inquiry into the 186 appointments be ordered.
“Investigate the 186 appointments. Fix responsibility. Punish the guilty. But do not destroy the autonomy of Himachal Pradesh University in the name of fighting corruption,” Chauhan said.
