National Law University Tripura (NLUT) Vice-Chancellor Prof Yogesh Pratap Singh has defended the appointment of Assistant Professor Dr Jayanta Dhar as in-charge Registrar, saying the decision was taken after consultations with the state higher education department and because no other suitable administrative option was available.

According to the Vice-Chancellor, the University’s Assistant Registrar initially handled the position for around three weeks following former Registrar Prof Nachiketa Mittal’s resignation on May 4. The state government subsequently advised appointing the senior-most available faculty member. Dhar was appointed on May 26, followed by a formal request for government approval on May 29 and ministerial approval on June 3.

Singh acknowledged that an assistant professor would ordinarily not be expected to hold the Registrar’s position but said the University lacked a professor among its faculty and the state government could not spare an officer.

The Vice-Chancellor also disputed students’ claim that their September 14 letter was unrelated to the former Registrar, alleging that Mittal had been contacting students and encouraging the concerns. These claims have been attributed to Singh and were not independently established in the material provided.

Students have raised several issues, including alleged safety concerns in the girls’ hostel, answer-script access, anonymisation of examination papers, financial disclosures and faculty attendance. Singh said the University was preparing a detailed response and would meet students directly.

He also said corrected financial disclosures would be uploaded and that the answer-script collection period could be extended. The University is considering creating a student representative body to improve communication between students and the administration.