I am 100% sure the TRS govt will pull the strings like the TMC did in Bengal (though I hope I am proven wrong). They will want a VC who ticks these boxes:

- Son/daughter of the soil
- Obedient to the TRS
- Willing to implement populist measure leading up to the 2023 state election, such as more domicile quota, courses in the local language, favouring local people in faculty recruitment and new campuses in Warangal, Adilabad and Nizamabad (copying the MNLU model).

It is true that the VC election committee has Upendra Baxi, but does he have the energy to monitor the process at his age?

NLSIU is not the only NLU to have alumni in its governing body. Do better research. As far as recruitment, that in itself doesn't prove much, venky was stalling those for long, anyone new would have got those done and it is not necessarily a good thing to only have a clear partial approach towards NLU alum for recruitment. As for Sudhir's faults as admin, why don't you actually ask people at NLSIU about those? Even outsiders would know about the NLAT fiasco, the recent 3 year LLB entrance that was pretty bad, his tantrums during CLAT, the courts giving him a drubbing, him charging fees for virtual convo, not being accessible to student grievances, deliberately stalling award of PhD degrees...the list goes on.

Sudhir is not a good administrator? Then who appointed alumni with good qualifications as faculty at NLSIU, after years of stalling by the TLC lobby? Who has taken the initiative to appoint alumni to the governing body of NLSIU: the only NLU with alumni on the governing body? Who has partnered with industry and alumni to raise funds for improving campus infrastructure at NLSIU? Your grandfather?? 🤣

Please read the advertisement posted on the NALSAR website. The Vice-Chancellor position is only open to people who have worked as Full Professors for at least 10 years. There are UGC Regulations on this precise point. So the applicant pool is likely to be very limited and there is a good chance that the VCs of many other NLUs have applied for the NALSAR VC position. The current students of NALSAR understand this, which is why they are openly calling for the incumbent to be re-appointed.

I recall a similar discussion featuring almost all these names happened when VC selection for NLUD was in process. However, out of blue, some unexpected person got selected. The same is going to happen in the case of NALSAR. In most probability, KDR will make it owing to the same reasons which favoured him in the case of NLUD. And then NALSAR's future will be bleak as is happening in NLUD.

I've been taught by VCV and he's one of those middle of the road teachers who aren't going to have a Good Will Hunting legacy. However as an administrator, he's really done a fantastic job at HNLU which would be evident to people who have worked under past administrators. He did a good job of routing out years of systemic corruption and babu-dom that was festering at HNLU and freed up a lot of funds that were being taken out through back entrances.

It's cute how you think only NLSIU alumni are qualified to become VCs elsewhere. As for Sudhir, he has not certainly done anything great as an administrator, as anyone from inside NLSIU will attest to. His attempts to hold exams like NLAT and the recent 3 Year LLB entrance have been really below average for example.

The best possible VCs can be divided into 3 categories:

1. Top administrators (judged by prior experience as Deans and VCs)
2. Top scholars (judged by academic publications)
3. Top intellectuals (judged not by academic publications but by newspaper articles, speeches and intellectual clout)

Category 1 people are rare. Sudhir has done excellent work at Law School but will not apply for NALSAR VCship. Category 2 people are mostly abroad (e.g. Law School alumni teaching abroad like Tarunabh and Shyam). However, there are a number of Law School alumni in category 3 who are in India: Lawrence, Gautam Bhatia etc. Someone like them should be the target.

No that makes no sense . Why is it unethical for chauhan to lobby for FM? How does him working at nalsar raise a question of ethics ? Is the argument that only students and alumni can care about who is the VC and mobilise and write letters to make that happen and not teachers ? That’s silly isn’t it ? Teachers work with the VC and are impacted by her decisions far more than anyone else. And anyway all the teachers are carrying water for someone or the other - why is chauhan held to a special standard ? Because he’s open about why he wants FM?

I am not going to call you any names, because I have got too much respect for you for that. However, this incident is not really showing you in a good light, TBH. A subordinate lobbying openly for the retention of a superior is not exactly a good thing. Whether the students wrote the petition or you did, it is quite clear that you are very deeply involved in the entire process. If that is the case, and you indeed want the best for NALSAR as I believe you do, why not only seek that FM be allowed to reapply alongside the other candidates and the search committee can compare the strength of his candidature together with the new applicants? While out with the old and in with the new isn't always a good thing, nor is the steadfast belief that the old is necessarily the best, without ever having to prove their claim. What you did with Sudhir was different, merely because you were not an employee of NLSIU at that point of time, but also because of the fact that you didn't ask for Sudhir to be appointed directly, he still had to go through the search committee process together with others.

Dear Guest,
I do not mind being called a 'Clown'. After all, the ability to get others to laugh at oneself can be quite useful and socially productive. However, I do take objection to your use of the word 'Pest'. In line with my training, I am not going to report your comment but respond to whatever point it is that you are trying to make.

Could you explain how I stand 'exposed' and in what context? If you recall, I had publicly supported Prof. Sudhir Krishnaswamy's appointment as NLSIU Vice-Chancellor in 2019. All of my comments and posts in his favour were made publicly in my own name. What was I hiding? This year, it is my belief that Prof. Faizan Mustafa's continuation as NALSAR Vice-Chancellor for one more term (2022-2027) would be better for the institution. I am prepared to set out my reasons in detail as well. I am sure that some colleagues and students have their own grievances and criticisms of FM's decisions made over the last 10 years. Does that somehow bar me from expressing my views and having discussions with colleagues and students? Does that prevent a large segment of our students from submitting their views to the Search Committee? How come there has been no criticism of some of the other contenders and their supporters who are openly reaching out to sitting judges and government officials? I am sure that we can trust the experience and wisdom of the Search Committee members to closely scrutinise the records of all those who are in contention.

Which game of mine do the students know about? The representation seeking Prof. Faizan Mustafa's re-appointment was submitted to the Search Committee on April 24, 2022. The text was prepared by the students. I did read the draft and helped them tighten the language. The signatures were collected through their own efforts. You must note that 565 out of 840 full-time students have signed their letter. Do you think that it is humanly possible for me (or any other faculty member) to beg, cajole or coerce such a large number of independent-minded students to sign such a letter? It must also be noted that nearly 275 students have chosen not to sign their letter. I am sure that they have good reasons for doing so and I respect their decision.

So instead of resorting to anonymous personal attacks, you should have the moral courage to identify yourself and have an open discussion with me and others interested in the long-term welfare of NALSAR. As you may recall, I do have the patience to engage in sustained arguments, even with those who begin by abusing me. If you think that this forum is not appropriate, you can call me over the phone and visit Shamirpet.

KD Rao is something.....

1. his wife had ordered curtains worth 4.5 lakhs, of course the bill was borne by NLU Delhi

2. he had pressurized the faculty members to write his daughter's projects

Shame on the faculty members who couldn't stand this humiliation!!!!

FM may move to his own state, UP. Prayagraj NLU needs a VC as it would begin its session in July 2022. He may try for RMLNLU, Lucknow as its current VC is moving to USA for an assignment in December 2022. FM is comparatively younger and he would be adjusted somewhere within six months. But, my gut feeling is that he would be reappointed for NALSAR.

Yup, u r rite dude. It is the deplorable MS Sahoo.....who has no idea about anything bein worth 'the Distinguished' or 'Professor'....this dude is a retired bureaucrat!! Folks like MP Singh, Baxi, Chimni, BB Pandey were mere Visiting Profs & this 'societal burden' is The Distinguished Professor.... obviously, thanx to again the deplorable KD Rao......

Again, why don't you name them? And those 'pliant' assistant professors whom you refer to do disdainfully, do a damn sight better job with the students that any HNLU faculty do theirs. I just saw two of your faculty in a seminar and they had zero knowledge of their subjects and mostly made a laughing stock of themselves to people who were actually domain experts.

You've obviously never seen a grant budget in your life. They don't detail what kind of computer is being bought - they set aside money for infrastructure. That money is then used to buy whatever the university will allow. Go look in other law schools, you'll see a bunch of iMacs. And FYI the grants come from companies, private foundations and other sources also.
If you are so interested in "corruption" and quid pro quos, take a look at faculty grants and see who all were paid what amounts from them. This is all audited by the way. People buy flats and you're having a hissy fit over a mac.

I wish to call you many names but I think 'uninformed' would be most polite, considering that you are a student. As a rule of thumb - Next time allege 'corruption' when you find Mac Desktops on paper, and local assembled ones in reality. Here the Macs are in use for the last 11 years

The fact that the University was able to get a generous grant, approval to buy good quality hardware or endowment chairs, do not prove anything but the fact that the profs and students back then submitted some really good proposals. I say so also because I was involved with the GIGA and few other projects when at NALSAR.

Other than dispelling the false notions hammered in your head [again presuming that you are a student and not any interested party], I would recommend you to read the GIGA proposal also to learn how proposals are written. A skill that none of the current Asst Profs have been trained on.

I'm 5.2.1 I agree with you on all the criticism. I'm not saying " if not sarkar who?" I'm saying- the current situation looks like if its not FM, it'll be someone worse. someone less competent and more capable of turning the university into a shop for the government and nothing more. Baxi is just one person on the committee. He cant stop NALSAR from turning into JNU. Its better to bite the bullet for now and stick it out with this one than to bet the pot and lose it all.

I'm 5.2.1, I don't think FM is some great example of academic rigor or administrative foresight. He might be student-friendly, but I have heard troubling reports from marginalized students about how they are ignored and have to fight to be heard. And student-friendly, when it's the majority of students in the Indian context, means that academic rigor is mostly lost. As for administrative foresight, he has groomed no one to take over when he leaves, he has attracted no academic superstars to the university, started no programs that have been well received, and added to the universities betterment. There are no research centers in NALSAR that do work that is as public and as commendable as NLUDs death penalty center or CCG, NLS's CWL ( and what Mrinal and Aparna are doing there now), or even JGLS's CHLET. Even NUJS has profs who are involved in Parichay etc-NALSAR only has Prof. Dhandas centre on disability rights and her ford grants- that can even compete. He has let the scamsters run their scams. He has not pursued new partnerships for funding scholarships or research like Sudhir. Hell a few months ago NLS donated desks to local government schools, nalsar doesn't even do that much to give back to the community surrounding it. The students at the university are completely divorced from their immediate context. I think one person got the rhodes in 2015 and no one since? thats a long time! The thing that he has done is talk about issues publically and there's good and bad there.
Like I said- I don't like FM. If circumstances were normal I would be pushing for someone else, but given the political situation and given that someone worse ( even though its a low bar) and politically motivated might get in because of the composition of the selection committee, the devil you know is better than the one you don't.

Hahaha you’re joking right? Some of these guys have no real academic credibility to their name and only uneducated first years would call them jurists. I know some of these guys personally- theyd actually agree with me that they’re not qualified. What’s wrong with you? Open a book for gods sake.

This sounds exactly like - "If not Modi then who?" worries being propagated by the ruling party. Prof. Mustafa was hardly known in legal acad circles before he became VC of Nalsar, 10 years back. Its a fact that he did some good work at the University. However, its also a fact that the number of 'Professors of Law' (not junior fac) has reduced from what it was 10 years back. NALSAR, was once know for its good physical infrastructure and facilities, but it seems little attention has been paid to keep up with the times (and the increasing number of LLB and MBA students !).

What has increased over the years is Prof. Mustafa's popularity, his vlogs and articles, and Prof. Dhanda's tenure. And as an Alumn I am happy about all of this. However, it would be terrible to assume that the University would just go belly-up if these individuals are not around. Those who are trying to sell doomsday theories to you are doing so because it serves their interests.

If you are student, I would advise you to get less disturbed by these games. Its not a happy feeling, when you learn later that you were just being played !

You guys are all wrong. It will be Madabhushi Sridhar Acharyulu, currently Dean of Mahindra Law School. He is an ex-NALSAR prof, ex-Central Information Commissioner, a local and a critic of the Modi government (which suits the current govt in Telangana).

It will be him for sure.

Forget "well-known", name one senior faculty member hired by NALSAR in the last 10 years? As I understand, only pliant Assit Profs have been hired. Even hiring good Associate Profs is considered a political risk, thus avoided.

My point was that HNLU has atleast tried to get some Associate and Full Prof level individuals onboard. And a few among them arent that unknown.

WHY would Srividhya want to be NALSAR'S VC? She's doing great as a prof at Texas A&M and is doing good work in IP. Why would she want to return here to just do admin and supervisory work? Genuinely asking. Like, is being a VC of NALSAR THAT prestigious? Idk, don't be mean guys

It will be Ved Kumari and she deserves it. Please ignore the crap posted about her on LI by certain NLUO students. These are people pushing back against discipline. They want easy grades and lax attendance, which she won't allow.

Just see the video of Ved Kumari below. She is calm, strong, honest and standing up to bullying and dirty abuses by Satendar Awana Gujjar, a thug ABVP leader and then DUSU president. The students from NLUO posting against Ved Kumari have the same type of rotten mindset.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ei2mKmDtBZM

Mac desktops in an office do not mean corruption, just that he got a grant for them. The faculty needs no help for feuds. The biggest instigators are still on campus. The ones who don't like to fight left. In fact this sounds like Nalsar faculty commenting. Same insecurities. Same pointing fingers at phantom corruption.

+1 to 5.2.1
the entire point of pitching for FM is to have atleast him or a candidate who's better than him. What we all are hearing is either some TRS or BJP guys are applying for the job, which would be fucked up. We don't want local uni politics happening on campus. Get a guy who's better than FM and we'll throw him a grand farewell, until then let him continue. In terms of academic rigor, liberal student friendly policies, and admin foresight - we need atleast FM level guy.

Despite such people the search committee, NLUs have sad future as the pool for prospective VCs is really rotten. For instance, think of NLUs like NALSAR, NUJS & NLUS to name a few. The current VCs are extremely hopeless. These guys deny basic benefits such as increments, LTA, PhD increments, child education benefits etc (I won't name the guy or else you'll know that I'm talking about Mustafa).

These guys have and will always prosper at the cost of the institution, students' and faculties' future. Sham academics literally in all of these places. NLUD is really screwed up academiically. But that's what is bound to happen if non-academics (the current VCs of the mentioned NLUS) head these places. MP Singh had done great for NUJS and hopeful that Sudhir would be doing good for NLS.

Chakraborty, Mustafa and KD Rao have really ruined these places. This KD Rao dude has appointed some bureaucrat as a Distinguished Professor. I mean, really!! This position is for hard core and really distinguished academicians.

The next VC must be an NLU alum like Sudhir, who can recruit NLU alumni faculty and make other improvements like Sudhir is doing at NLSIU. Some candidates could be:

- Tarunabh Khaitan from Oxford (NLSIU alum)
- Mrinal Satish (NLSIU alum)
- Aparna Chandra (NSLIU alum)
- Pritam Baruah (NALSAR alum)
- Arup Surendranath (NALSAR alum)

To top that, he is corrupt (see Mac desktops in GIGA- those who know will know), conceited and kinda of old fashioned (in terms of views on people wearing shorts for instance). His publication track record is pants, and his sense of humour shit (though I know some people from the 2005-10 period like him).

And to the one stating that only thing he lacks is PR (a few comments up), you know nothing Jon Snow. That is pretty much the only thing he is good with. Plus, if he returns to NALSAR he will immediately start his old running feuds with a part of the faculty.

PS: I’ll honestly take both VK and Sarma (if a gun is held to my head) over VCV.

It’s not propaganda idiot. Look at who is on the selection committee. apart from Baxi, do you think the others are gonna pick the best person for the university? Or are they gonna let political considerations motivate them?

I don’t particularly like FM, but there’s no denying that he might be better than the folks the committee might pick.

Only someone who knows that his days are limited at the place would employ Cid Shu to get a "Please Dont Go!" petition signed by the students, and malign other contenders.

R please publish this one as its is one of the many tactics being employed by preachers of freedom, liberty and yes - tolerance. Many innocent students are falling for the propaganda.

Of all three names, and a few other floating around, VCV is the only one with relevant credentials, connections and experience. For those calling him a paper tiger should try to find out more about the changes, faculty (including senior faculty) and projects he has brought to the place. I think he lacks (in a big way) in marketing and PR, skills in which the ShahenShah Of Shameerpet is a Pro.

Nalsar is lucky to have three scholars on the selection panel, especially Upendra Baxi. Contrast with NUJS, which chose NKC instead of VCV. The panel consisted of the then AG (a little-known lawyer and TMC lackey), a lightweight judge who was serving as acting CJ for a few weeks and Justice Misra (a judge with a dubious record, but to be fair he did propose Vivekanandan's name).

Any existing NLU VC will have an edge over others, but I would place my money on Ved Kumari or Kamala Sankaran, because of the DU coterie. Baxi will probably favour them as will the others. VCV's biggest strength is that he has been a professor at NALSAR in the past, but I don't know if Baxi will go with him.

https://www.barandbench.com/news/lawschools/nalsar-hyderabad-invites-applications-post-vice-chancellor-university

Here are 3 strong candidates who qualify. Feel free to add to the list!

1. VC Vivekanandan, PhD (NLSIU), HNLU VC.
- Had applied to NUJS. After being rejected (because of politics) joined HNLU. May apply to upgrade to a better NLU.
Strengths: Already an existing VC, prior to that also had admin experience (Dean of Bennett and IIT Law School), has taught at NALSAR as a professor, technically counts as both a TLC and NLU alum
Weaknesses: Below par publication record, teaches IP and not public law

2. Ved Kumari, PhD (DU) NLUO VC
- Currently VC of NLUO, long tenure at DU.
Strengths: Panel members will like a DU person, woman, public law scholar, smart, some international experience, well published
- Weaknesses: Strict disciplinarian, clashes with some students because of this

3. Srividhya Raghavan, LLB (NLSIU), LLM (KCL), PhD (GW). Professor at Texas A&M.
- Had applied to be NLUD VC, did not make it. May throw in her hat again.
Strengths: Well published, NLSIU alum, woman, smart, long international experience
Weaknesses: Lack of contacts and pull in India, TLC panel members (expect Baxi) may root for TLC alum, neither of the panel members have much idea of IP law and may favour a public law scholar.