Prior to the high court’s deadline of January 17 for action against outgoing vice chancellor Rajendra Khimani, who resigned based on a UGC report, Gujarat Vidyapith appointed a senior professor to take over as its in-charge vice chancellor.
Prior to the new appointment being made, Prof. Bharat Joshi of the Vidyapith department of education has been asked to assume leadership. Joshi acknowledged that he got a call about it. He consented to taking over on Monday.
The UGC ordered Khimani’s removal as VC in November 2021 after discovering a procedural error in his appointment, as per its inquiry report. In addition, Khimani made a few mistakes while serving as the registrar of the Gujarat Vidyapith from April 1, 2004, to April 30, 2019, according to the UGC report.
According to sources, Khimani resigned before the January 17 deadline set by the Gujarat High Court for the university to make a decision regarding him.
After Ela Bhatt, a social worker and former chancellor of the Vidyapith, resigned, Governor Acharya Devvrat recently assumed the position. Ela Bhatt is now deceased.
Khimani had filed a complaint with the HC against the UGC order, claiming that it was “illegal and in violation of Regulation 10.12.2.E of the UGC (Institutions Deemed to be Universities) Regulations, 2019.”