HC asks govt to sack Mylarappa

The Karnataka High Court on Wednesday quashed the appointment of B C Mylarappa as the registrar of Bangalore University and directed the authorities concerned to relieve him of his duties “immediately”.

A division bench comprising Justice N Kumar and Justice Suri Appa Rao issued orders for the removal of Mylarappa, who was appointed registrar in November 2011. The court allowed a petition filed by P M Parameshwara Murthy and three others who had moved the court challenging the appointment of Mylarappa as registrar. They had accused him of several offences and questioned his eligibility as a lecturer.  

The petitioners challenged his appointment on the grounds that the university had overlooked several offences committed by Mylarappa at the time of his appointment. Mylarappa had contested unsuccessfully the Assembly election from the Pulikeshinagar constituency here in 2008, representing the ruling party. He was given the registrar’s post after the election, the petitioners alleged.

A government-appointed committee headed by retired IAS officer K V Irniraya had also indicted Mylarappa of plagiarism. The indictment was based on a report by Institute for Social and Economic Change, which confirmed the allegations of plagiarism against the registrar. Mylarappa is said to have assisted his PhD student, M Venkataramanappa, allowing him to copy more than 100 pages from his PhD thesis. The registrar’s own PhD thesis has also been slammed for plagiarism. Based on the recommendations of the Irniraya Committee, the University Syndicate earlier this year decided to withdraw the PhD of Venkataramanappa.

On Wednesday, the High Court bench observed that the government had not applied its mind in the appointment of Mylarappa as registrar, though all facts pointed to the irregularities committed by him. Justice N Kumar said “such people” would mar the image of an educational institution if they held important posts.

Reacting to the order, Mylarappa told the media that he would tender his resignation on Thursday, but would approach the Supreme Court. “All allegations of plagiarism are baseless,” he said. An outraged Mylarappa contended that one of the petitioners, Vasudeva Murthy, was “a habitual petitioner”. He also condemned the Irniraya Committee report.

Higher Education Minister C T Ravi said the government would comply with the High Court orders. Action would be initiated as soon as the copy of the High Court order reached the government, he said.