The state challenged RN Ravi's notifications constituting three selection committees to recommend three names each for the post of VC for 3 universities.
The Governor had issued three separate notifications constituting search-cum-selection committees to recommend names for the post of VC for three universities by adding the UGC Chairman’s nominees. (Commons)
The Tamil Nadu government has, for the second time in days, approached the Supreme Court against Governor RN Ravi over his appointments in the “search-cum-selection” committee for the appointments of vice-chancellors (VCs) to three state universities.
Claiming that the Governor was “engaging in politically-motivated conduct”, the DMK government led by MK Stalin had, on Tuesday, 31 October, approached the Supreme Court seeking a direction to the Raj Bhavan to dispose of the pending Bills (passed in the state Assembly), government orders (GOs), and prosecution sanctions within a stipulated time period.
In the latest move, senior advocate P Wilson and advocate Sabarish Subramanian, on behalf of the state, challenged Governor Ravi’s notifications on the VC appointment process dated 6 September.
The notifications constituted three search-cum-selection committees to recommend three names each for the posts of VC for the University of Madras, Bharathiar University (BU), and the Tamil Nadu Teachers’ Education University (TNTEU).
The Tamil Nadu government contended in its plea that the notifications — nominating “extra-statutory persons in search committee panels constituted for shortlisting the names for appointments to the post of Vice-Chancellors of the state universities” — were contrary to state laws and state government policy decisions.
It also submitted that this act of the Governor, in his capacity as the Chancellor of Universities of the state, had left the universities high and dry with no supervision and administrative cruch.
The Tamil Nadu government also submitted that the Governor, in his usual non-cooperative attitude, had been causing impediments and embarrassment to the state government machinery and had been issuing notifications through his Governor’s office for constituting search-and-selection committees unilaterally and contrary to state statutes in order to impose 7.3 (ii) of the University Grants Commission (UGC) Regulations 2018, which stipulates for at least one member of the committee to be a nominee of the chairman of the UGC.
The petition also pointed out that these universities have separate rules and laws governing them and, according to these rules, once the tenure of an incumbent is over, search committees are formed to choose the next VC and the appointments are made in accordance with the respective university Acts and published in the State Gazette. There is no need to appoint the UGC’s nominee to the committees.
Hence, the state prayed to the court to nullify the notifications issued by Governor Ravi.
The Governor had issued three separate notifications constituting search-cum-selection committees to recommend names for the post of VCs for the University of Madras, Bharathiar University, and the TNTEU, by adding the UGC chairman’s nominees.
HCS Rathore, former VC of the Central University of South Bihar, is the UGC chairman’s nominee for Madras University and the TNTEU. B Thimmegowda, former VC of Bangalore University, is the UGC chairman’s nominee for Bharathiar University.
Locking horns after the move by the Governor, the Tamil Nadu government, on 13 September, issued a gazette notification removing Rathore from the search committee of the University of Madras.
Tamil Nadu Higher Education Minister K Ponmudy questioned the authority of the Governor to appoint search-cum-selection committees and said that the committees were unilaterally constituted and added that the appointments were illegal.
Following this, the Raj Bhavan issued a directive on 26 September, stating that the gazette notification was “an act of impropriety” and directed the ministry to withdraw it, stating that the notification is “void ab initio”.
May 08, 2024
May 08, 2024
May 08, 2024
May 07, 2024
May 07, 2024
May 07, 2024
