New Delhi: The University of Delhi (DU) on Friday directed St Stephen’s College to repatriate outgoing principal Professor John Varghese to his parent institution, citing that his absorption as a professor at the college violates the University Grants Commission (UGC) guidelines.DU asked the college to repatriate outgoing the principalto his parent institution, citing UGC guidelines. (HT Archive)The letter, signed by the DU Registrar Vikas Gupta and addressed to the chairperson of the college’s governing body, stated that Varghese’s post-retirement benefits should not be drawn from the UGC funds allocated to the college.“It is apparent that the absorption of John Varghese as professor in the St Stephen’s College is in violation of all rules of UGC and the university. Any such recommendations of the governing body is ultra vires and should not be acted upon any further,” read the letter, a copy of which was seen by HT.“Professor John Varghese be repatriated to his parent institution, and consequently, he would draw his pension and other retirement benefits, if any, from the said institution only. No retirement benefits can be booked under the funds provided by the UGC to the college,” it added.The letter comes within a week of the college absorbing its outgoing principal, Varghese, as a professor in the English department. The college’s official website names Varghese among the eight professors in the department headed by Dr Karen Gabriel.HT reached out to Varghese and the chairperson of the governing body for comment but did not receive a response till the time of going to press.The UGC’s guidelines on the appointment of teachers state that, upon completion of the term as principal, the individual must return to their parent institution.Before being appointed principal, Varghese was a professor at the English and Foreign Languages University (EFLU) Hyderabad, making it his parent institution.“After the completion of his/her term as Principal, the incumbent shall rejoin his/her parent organisation in the position of Professor, in the same grade of Professor,” the UGC guidelines state.The university said neither the UGC regulations nor any norms approved by the university’s statutory bodies provide for the absorption of an employee as a professor in the college.In the letter, the university also pointed out that Varghese’s second term, which ended on February 28, 2026, was in violation of the UGC’s guidelines, and the matter is sub judice in the Delhi High Court. His first term had ended in March 2021.The letter comes at a time when the appointment of Professor Susan Elias as the 14th and first woman principal of St Stephen’s College has also become a point of contention between the university and the college.The university has termed Elias’s appointment a violation of the UGC’s regulations, stating that the selection committee constituted for the principal’s appointment did not include two members nominated by the DU vice-chancellor. In a May 14 letter, the university asked the college to reconstitute the selection committee in accordance with UGC provisions.