WBNUJS appoints NLSIU professor OV Nandimath as vice-chancellor after week-long protests

West Bengal National University of Juridical Sciences (WBNUJS) has appointed OV Nandimath as its new Vice-Chancellor, succeeding NK Chakrabarti. Nandimath is currently a faculty member at the National Law School of India University (NLSIU), Bengaluru.

According to Bar & Bench, the appointment follows a series of student protests demanding the resignation of NK Chakrabarti. Chakrabarti has been serving in the vice-chancellor post since 2019. In response, the Executive Council of the WBNUJS decided to appoint OV Nandimath as the new vice-chancellor.

Nandimath’s academic background and fellowships

Nandimath, who will now take charge, has previously served as registrar at NLSIU and been visiting faculty at Warwick University and Cardiff University. He is a Chevening Scholar and has also been a Fulbright Fellow and Stegner Fellow at the University of Utah. Nandimath is expected to take charge as Vice-Chancellor in the coming weeks.

For nearly a week, students at WBNUJS held silent demonstrations during classes, wearing black armbands to express dissent. The students alleged mismanagement in administrative functioning, lack of financial transparency, and deterioration in academic and hostel facilities. They demanded that the outgoing Vice-Chancellor step down by October 31.

Students cite lack of transparency, safety issues

The protests gained momentum after students claimed that financial records and committee minutes were not made publicly accessible until pressure from the student body. Concerns were also raised over the delay in conducting audits and issues of safety within the campus.

Chakrabarti, while responding to the protests, termed the demand for resignation “premature” and said a search committee for the next Vice-Chancellor had already been constituted. He added that financial matters had been reviewed and cleared by the Executive Council.