Sanjeev Sanyal reinstated as Chancellor of Gokhale Institute of Politics and Economics 2 days after his removal, had flagged financial irregularities in the institution

Sanjeev Sanyal, economist and a member of the Economic Advisory Council to the Prime Minister, has been reinstated as the Chancellor of the Gokhale Institute of Politics and Economics (GIPE) by the Servants of India Society (SIS), which is the parent body of the GIPE. The SIS, on Saturday (5th April), revoked its earlier order dated April 2, 2025, of removing Sanyal from the position of the Chancellor of the GIPE.

The SIS President, Damodar Sahoo, said that Sanyal was removed due to some “misunderstanding” caused by the “lack of communication”. “I came to know and became satisfied that, as Chancellor, you have taken steps to protect and enhance the glory of GIPE. This misunderstanding arose due to a lack of communication between you and the Servants of India Society,” Sahoo said in a letter.

“I am thankful to you that you have graciously furnished a detailed explanation to all our concerns, as written in my letter. From the content of your letter, I came to know and became satisfied that, as the Chancellor of our Gokhale Institute of Politics and Economics, you have decided to take suitable steps in enhancing and protecting the glory of Gokhale Institute. Sanjeevji, this misunderstanding happened due to a lack of communication between you and the Servants of India Society,” Sahoo added.

Sanyal’s reinstatement comes a day after he was replaced as the Chancellor of the GIPE by a retired Bombay High Court judge, Justice SC Dharmadhikari.

Sanyal refutes allegations against him

Sanyal posted on X, refuting the allegations levelled by Sahoo against him, which formed the grounds for his removal. Sanyal said that Sahoo provided two grounds for his removal as the Chancellor of the GIPE in a letter dated 2nd April. The first ground was that under Sanyal’s tenure as the Chancellor of the GIPE, the prestigious institution received a poor ‘B’ grade from the NAAC. The second ground was that Sanyal did not respond to a letter from the SIS.

Refuting Sahoo’s allegations, Sanyal wrote that the NAAC grading of the GIPE was based on the institution’s performance between 2018-23, while he took over as the Chancellor in October 2024. “I had so far refrained from commenting on recent events at GIPE. However, I would like to put a few things on public record. SIS President Sahoo has raised two justifications for replacing me as Chancellor of GIPE. First, that I am somehow responsible for the poor ‘B’ grade in NAAC ratings. Note that I just took over in October 2024 and visited the place for the first time in November. Moreover, the review was based on data between 2018-23. Surely, those who are responsible for this rating should be held responsible, ” Sanyal wrote on X.

Addressing the second allegation of the lack of communication on his part, Sanyal said that he could not respond to a letter from Sahoo sent on 24th March as he was in the UK to deliver lectures at various institutions, including the London School of Economics (LSE) and King’s College. He said that before he could respond to the letter after returning to India, he was removed from the position. “I returned late on the night of 30th March and on 31st March requested one of India’s most senior academics to look into it. She agreed a day later, but SIS chose to send this letter before I could write a reply. I am placing both their letter and my reply for all to see, “Sanyal said.

Sanyal had flagged some financial irregularities at the institution

After assuming office as the Chancellor, Sanyal had flagged certain “suspicious happenings at the GIPE campus”, including some financial irregularities at the GIPE. He set up a committee including representatives from the UGC, the SIS and the state government to look into the irregularities. Besides, Sanyal had also raised the issue of the GIPE campus being used to run an institution called the Western Business School.

“It has been my attempt to clear these matters in a transparent way. A finance committee was set up as per UGC norms, including representatives of UGC, SIS, state govt, etc. They raised several pertinent issues at their meeting on 29th Mar 2025,” Sanyal stated.

“A full new institution called Western Business School claims to run from the same campus and has posted photos of GIPE on their website. Here is the link, but given that the photos are now being changed, I am also placing a screenshot. Their promotional material (pdf), now in our custody, is based entirely on claiming the GIPE campus as their own!!” Sanyal added.

Sanyal pointed out that the SIS no longer provides financial assistance to the GIPE and instead obtains rent from it. GIPE, according to Sanyal, is being run entirely on students’ fees and taxpayers’ money. He shared some documents to show how SIS extracts money from the GIPE in the name of different services.

“There is no transparency on how these amounts are derived. These were also questioned by the finance committee. Note that I receive no remuneration for being Chancellor, and normally it is just a ceremonial role. However, given the long-standing breakdown in governance, it is my duty to hard working students/faculty to step in and ask the right questions; I will continue to do so,” Sanyal said.

Sanyal’s removal was not supported by other SIS members

Vice Chancellor of the SIS, Atmanand Mishra, was reportedly opposed to the decision of removing Sanyal from the GIPE and appointing Retired Justice Dharmadhikari without following the due process. He said that there is a procedure to be followed for someone, which includes sending notice to the person concerned and giving him an opportunity to explain. “I am not on the board of the management of the institute, so I am not aware of many things, but I am a part of SIS. Sanyal was terminated without following the due process, and the new Chancellor was appointed in the same manner. I am against what happened,” said Mishra.

Mishra alleged that Sahoo and SIS Secretary Deshmukh had “hollowed out” the SIS. He said that they do not follow any procedures and treat the Society as their personal property. “I have served 40 years in the Society. But in Sahoo’s Presidency and Deshmukh’s Secretaryship, the whole structure of the society has been hollowed out. Deshmukh…has changed in the last few years after Sahoo became President. They take some action earlier, and move a resolution later and get everybody’s signatures. They treat the Society as their personal property, even the charity commissioner is not helping,” Mishra alleged.

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