Chandigarh, Dec. 10 -- Professor BB Goyal has been part of Panjab University's University Business School (UBS) for over three decades since the early 1990s, teaching marketing and supervising research scholars, and even going on to lead the department. Though academically established, his career has rarely been free of dispute. In the early 2000s, he awarded 42 marks on re-evaluation to a student's answer script that had originally scored zero. The incident was officially recorded as misconduct by the university's syndicate in 2013, and his promotion was cancelled as a penalty. Goyal contested the punishment through a series of petitions, and the university eventually restored his promotion with retrospective seniority under the Career Advancement Scheme (CAS), effectively overriding the earlier penalty. The decision sparked resentment, with senate and syndicate members questioning the reversal of the disciplinary action. The matter resurfaced repeatedly in future official deliberations. Even his elevation to chairperson in 2020 became contentious. It was legally challenged before the high court, which stayed his elevation, but eventually vacated the order in 2022, paving the way for his appointment as chairperson in April 2022. Goyal was due to retire in November 2022, but continues to remain in service on extension. Students describe Goyal as approachable and generous with internal marks, generally easy-going in class, but sometimes irritable, "particularly towards female students". Among colleagues, however, his image is sharply different: aggressive, self-centred and "adept at using connections" to turn matters in his favour, despite lacking warmth or camaraderie among faculty. HTC...