Visva-Bharati professor quits report panel alleging doctored meeting minutes, staff shortage

A senior professor of Visva-Bharati has resigned from the chairmanship of the university’s editorial committee and annals committee, making a series of allegations against the university administration, including the doctoring of official meeting records, contradictory decisions in review committee meetings and administrative irregularities. The editorial committee is responsible for compiling Visva-Bharati University’s annual report 2025-26.

Sudipta Bhattacharyya, professor, department of economics and politics, submitted his resignation to the vice-chancellor, through the registrar, on July 25. In the three-page letter, he said he could no longer continue in the role because of inadequate staffing, lack of infrastructure and what he described as “serious governance concerns”.

Academia360 reached out to Visva-Bharati for its response to the allegations made in the resignation letter. Till the point of publication, there was no response from the university. If and when they do respond, this report will be updated with their comments.

Visva-Bharati: Meeting records vs decision

The most serious allegation in the resignation letter relates to the minutes of a review committee meeting held on February 22, 2026.

According to Bhattacharyya, he had initially declined to continue as chairperson after completing the Annual Report for 2024-25. However, during the review meeting, he was requested by the VC to continue for another term. Bhattacharyya agreed only after seeking the reposting of an experienced Multi-Tasking Staff (MTS) member, Kanishka Das, to the annual report section.

"In the larger interest of the University and in deference to the Vice-Chancellor's request, the undersigned agreed to continue for another term, but only on the condition that Mr Kanishka Das, the MTS, be transferred to the Annual Report Section again," the letter said.

Bhattacharyya said that the VC accepted the request during the meeting and an office order was subsequently issued transferring the employee back. However, when the minutes of the meeting were circulated, they allegedly recorded a different decision and omitted any reference to the office order.

"Clearly, this amounts to an alteration of the minutes which was never discussed or approved in the meeting and this is a serious matter," Bhattacharyya mentioned in the resignation letter.

He further stated that he wanted to avoid "the possibility of being an accused for alteration of minutes" by continuing as chairperson of the editorial committee.

Bhattacharyya also referred to an earlier case in which a former acting VC, former acting registrar and former acting finance officer were removed from their positions and later, compulsorily retired, over alleged alteration of official minutes. Bhattacharyya said that he feared being implicated in a similar controversy.

Problems with review committee resolutions

The professor also alleged that the review committee adopted contradictory resolutions on multiple occasions regarding the deployment of support staff to the annual report section.

According to the resignation letter, one meeting resolved that the transferred MTS employee would work on a half-day basis for the Annual Report section for several months until alternative arrangements were made. Another meeting later recorded that the employee would be called only for a single half-day session to train an outsourced worker.

"In reality, the undersigned found it extremely difficult to engage Mr. Kanishka Das even for half an hour, as his present office imposed restrictions on his movement," Bhattacharyya wrote.

Even one MTS staffer is valuable because the annual report section is severely understaffed. Bhattacharyya’s letter says it is “almost impossible” to edit and standardise reports received from various departments to put the annual report together in time.

Bhattacharyya also pointed to a court case related to the Internal Complaints Committee whose chairperson was allowed to continue in her post till retirement, despite an interim order from the Calcutta High Court describing its proceedings as "absolutely ridiculous”. Bhattacharyya had moved the HC against an ICC investigation into a sexual harassment complaint against him. The complaint was stayed and later, a division bench dismissed the university’s appeal against the interim order.

As a member of the review committee, he said he was uncomfortable endorsing minutes relating to the functioning of the ICC and other committees without clarity on whether they were functioning lawfully. “Remaining ignorant about the functioning of ICC (as well as of various other committees) the undersigned does not want to endorse the minutes of the Review Committee Meetings”, the letter said.

Colleague backs professor

Supporting Bhattacharyya, Tathagata Choudhury, Head of the Department of Biotechnology at Visva-Bharati, said the professor had worked diligently on the Annual Report and that his concerns should not be dismissed.

"He has worked sincerely on this and whatever he is saying did happen. There is concrete evidence. He too is going to retire soon, in June 2027, so these anomalies will affect his overall work and career," Choudhury told Academia360.