Rohtak, Feb. 19 -- Haryana governor Ashim Kumar Ghosh, who is also the chancellor of Maharshi Dayanand University (MDU), Rohtak, on Wednesday reinstated registrar Krishan Kant, setting aside the suspension order issued by vice-chancellor Rajbir Singh on Tuesday night. The governor's intervention follows a late-night standoff, where the V-C placed the registrar and a senior professor under suspension. The dispute arose after the registrar emailed executive council (EC) members to postpone Wednesday's meeting, citing directions from the state higher education department. In a letter issued by his secretary, the governor ordered the immediate reinstatement of Kant and directed that the V-C take no further action without approval from the chancellor's office. However, the governor has not yet issued directions regarding the suspension of Nasib Singh Gill, a professor in the computer science department. The confrontation comes just 48 hours before Rajbir Singh's second term as vice-chancellor ends on February 20. The standoff intensified on Wednesday morning when the governor's office issued a formal directive at 11.40am, minutes before the scheduled start, to postpone the 304th EC meeting, calling it a "clear violation" of government orders dated February 17. Despite the initial government stay, the V-C had reportedly attempted to proceed with the online meeting. The dispute is over the appointment of four professors and seven associate professors. On January 14, the state government had instructed the MDU not to issue appointment letters or allow joining without prior consent. The government said that a previous EC meeting was held in defiance of instructions and that appointment letters were issued against explicit directions. A senior EC member, requesting anonymity, alleged the V-C was attempting to confirm the minutes of the earlier meeting to finalise the appointments before his term ends this Friday. In his Tuesday night suspension order, the V-C had accused the registrar of a "gross violation" of the University Act and claimed his actions had brought the MDU functioning to a standstill. The registrar countered this on Wednesday, terming the V-C's move "illegitimate". Rajbir Singh did not respond to calls or text messages from Hindustan Times. MDU public relations department director Prof Ashish Dahiya said the EC meeting started but it was stopped after receiving a communication from the governor's office. "The meeting started but no agenda was discussed. EC members appreciated the tenure of vice-chancellor Prof Rajbir Singh and endorsed his work," Dahiya said in a statement. Several teaching and non-teaching employees assembled outside the vice-chancellor's office on Wednesday after learning that the EC meeting had begun despite government norms prohibiting it. While a few non-teaching staff members expressed support for holding the meeting, most of the teaching faculty, along with some non-teaching employees, protested and raised slogans against the V-C. The faculty members alleged that the V-C was creating divisions within the teaching community. They further flayed his decision to convene the EC meeting in defiance of government orders and to suspend the registrar without prior consultation with the government or the governor's office....