PIL Heat on Varsity Umbrella over Association of Indian Universities Tenure Row
Basant Kumar Mohanty | 13 July 2026 | The Telegraph Online
The Association of Indian Universities (AIU), an academic body representing over 1,000 varsities, is facing a legal battle over the continuation of Prof. Vinay Pathak as president beyond his one-year tenure, allegedly with government support.
A Rohtak-based RTI activist and whistleblower has filed a PIL in Delhi High Court against the education ministry and the AIU over the extended tenure of Pathak, who is also the vice-chancellor of Kanpur University.
The AIU by-laws mandate a one-year term for the president. Pathak’s tenure as the AIU president ended on June 30, 2025. However, he continued in the post by citing an order issued by the education ministry about setting up a committee to review the functioning of the AIU. The order issued in June 2025 also wanted the AIU to “maintain status quo till six months or till any decision is taken on receipt of the report of the committee, whichever is earlier”.