Days after his appointment was cancelled, Saurabh Kumar Sharma has been appointed as faculty at Jawaharlal Nehru University’s Centre of Computer and System Sciences, amid protests and controversies. Sharma was appointed as an associate professor by the university’s Internal Quality Assurance Cell despite the screening committee issuing a notification that dismissed his selection. 

Sharma was the joint secretary of Jawaharlal Nehru University Students’ Union in 2016 and a member of the Akhil Bharatiya Vidyarthi Parishad, the student wing of the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh. He was one of the key witnesses in the 2016 JNU protest against the hanging of Afzal Guru, leading the charge that eventually resulted in the arrest of Kanhaiya Kumar under charges of sedition. 

Newslaundry had earlier reported how the selection criteria for the post was changed by the screening committee — possibly to benefit Sharma. A protest letter criticising the change in criteria was signed by 10 professors of the School of Computational and System Sciences. Soon after, the selection committee issued a rejection list of the candidates, including Sharma and three others, who did not meet the initial criteria. 

However, that rejection list has now been disbanded. 

Here is the chronology of events which led to his appointment.

May 2019: Sharma got his provisional PhD degree within a month of appearing for his viva, which goes against university convention. It generally takes about 7-9 months for the degree to be awarded to the candidate. Faculty and students alleged his PhD was “fast-tracked” to allow him to apply for faculty positions.

May 9: An advertisement was posted on the JNU website for the post of assistant professor at the School of Computational and Integrative Sciences, with a vacancy in both the reserved and unreserved categories. An advertisement was also posted by the School of Computers and System Sciences. 

Candidates were required to have a background in statistics/biostatistics or computer sciences/information technology. Sharma holds an MTech in computational biology and a PhD in neuroscience.

November 7-10: The list of selected candidates was released. The list said the criteria was “changed” to anyone holding a masters in science. Sharma was shortlisted by both schools.  

November 19: Ten professors from the School of Computational and Integrative Sciences issued a letter protesting the change in criteria. Media reports surfaced, speculating Sharma’s appointment.

November 27: The selection committee issued a rejection list with four names including Sharma’s, for failing to meet the initial criteria. 

The first week of December: The selection goes through three tiers: the screening committee, the Internal Quality Assurance Cell and, finally the selection committee. The quality assurance cell overturned the screening committee’s decision and Sharma’s name appeared on a final list of selected candidates, alongside three others. However, only Sharma was appointed.