UU Honour put on hold

BHUBANESWAR: A day before its annual convocation, Utkal University on Friday decided to keep in abeyance the honoris causa to be conferred on Manubhai Patel, former president of Servants of People Society. The Chancellor’s Office asked the varsity authorities to keep it on hold. “The Chancellor’s Office decides the honoris causa and it has directed that the conferment be put on hold,” Registrar DN Jena told this paper. On Wednesday, the Chancellor’s Office had received a petition containing several allegations against Patel, including registration of a criminal complaint with police in Cuttack. A copy was also submitted to Vice-President Hamid Ansari, who will address the convocation on Friday. The premier university had, earlier, announced to confer honorary doctorate degrees on seven prominent persons, including Patel.