HRD ministry's angry missive to UGC for fiasco that nearly got HRD secretary arrested

NEW DELHI: Inaction by University Grants Commission to present views of HRD ministry in the National Green Tribunal nearly got education secretary Ashok Thakur arrested in March. The arrest was averted, but a miffed ministry has sought explanation from UGC chairperson Ved Prakash, asking him to fix responsibility for the fiasco.

Lawyer and activist MC Mehta had gone to the NGT stating that universities were not following the Supreme Court order on making environmental studies mandatory. UGC and HRD ministry were made a party to the case. In late March when it came up for hearing before the principal bench of NGT, arrest warrant was issued against the secretary as there was no one to represent the ministry. But it came to the ministry's notice that UGC counsel, who was present in the court on that day, later said he did not defend HRD's interests since the UGC secretariat had not asked him to do so. All this happened despite the ministry having written to UGC in February to "watch its interests" in the NGT.

The news of arrest warrant against Thakur was also brought to the ministry's notice not by the UGC or its counsel but by police. After Thakur sought explanation from Ved Prakash, UGC filed a reply in the NGT on April 4, but did not make HRD ministry's letter a part of it.

A senior ministry official asked UGC secretary JS Sandhu, dismissing UGC counsel's excuse that he could not defend HRD since he did not have the power of attorney to do so. "The power of attorney phrase is an attempt to divert attention from the bungling that has happened in the UGC in the case. The power of attorney requirement does not prevent the UGC from filing its reply in the case and through the reply, presenting the letter of HRD before the court," the ministry official wrote to Sandhu.

Ved Prakash has apologised to Thakur and also set up a committee to safeguard the interests of UGC and HRD in future.