The Sai University has said senior advocate Sriram Panchu ceased to be a member of its executive council in February 2026 and it was “factually incorrect” to claim he had resigned over charges of alleged sexual misconduct against its Vice-Chancellor, Ajith Abraham.

In a statement to The Hindu the university Vice- Chancellor Ajith Abrham said Mr. Panchu was continuously absent from “five consecutive board meetings with his last attendance recorded in February 2025” and that he “ceased to be a member of the Executive Council in February 2026—months prior to the events” cited in the article.

“Under the statutory regulations of Sai University, any board member who remains continuously absent from Executive Council meetings for more than one year (equivalent to four consecutive meetings) automatically ceases to hold membership.”

Mr. Abraham said references to “academic misconduct” regarding citation practices and publication records were “entirely baseless” and verifiable institutional data and academic records held by Sai University confirm there is no evidence to support these allegations.

‘Factually incorrect’

“The university has thoroughly reviewed these matters and determined that the claims are factually incorrect and stem from a fundamental misunderstanding of globally accepted academic indexing and metrics,” he said.