The college has been in a long-running institutional conflict with DU over questions of governance and autonomy. (File Photo) Delhi University has directed St Stephen’s College not to proceed with a proposal to absorb Principal John Varghese as a professor once his tenure as institution head ends, saying such a move would violate University Grants Commission (UGC) regulations and university rules. This comes days after a controversy broke out over the appointment of its new principal. DU had asked St Stephen’s to “not proceed with the appointment” of Professor Susan Elias as its new principal on the grounds that the committee that chose her was allegedly constituted in violation of UGC regulations. In the present matter, in a letter dated May 29 to the Chairman of the Governing Body of St Stephen’s College, Registrar Vikas Gupta said it was responding to media reports regarding the proposed absorption of Varghese in the college’s English Department.…