The delay in appointing a Vice-Chancellor to the University of Madras since August 2023 has not gone down well with the Madras High Court.
First Division Bench of Chief Justice Sanjay V. Gangapurwala and Justice D. Bharatha Chakravarthy wrote: “The University of Madras is without a Vice Chancellor since August 2023. It is one of the prestigious Universities in the State of Tamil Nadu.
“The said University is without its head for almost seven months. Only on the ground that the matter is pending in the Supreme Court, i.e. the State of Tamil Nadu filed a writ petition under Article 32 of the Constitution, steps for appointment of Vice Chancellor in accordance with law are not undertaken.”
The Bench also said: “We cannot fathom a University without a Vice Chancellor for such a long period. The same is also not good for the maintenance of the academic excellence.”
The observations were made while passing an interim order on a writ petition filed by advocate B. Jagannath last year insisting upon the inclusion of a University Grants Commission nominee in the search panel constituted by the State government for identifying suitable candidates to the post of vice-chancellor.
After the filing of the present writ petition, the Division Bench was informed that the Legislative Assembly had passed a Bill for making the Chief Minister as the Chancellor of all State universities but the Governor had not given his assent to it. The State government had, therefore, taken the matter to the Supreme Court.
Due to the delay in disposal of that case, there was a consequent delay in appointment of Vice-Chancellor to the University of Madras, State Government Pleader A. Edwin Prabhakar told the Bench and sought some time to get instructions on finalising the search panel.
Accepting the request, the Bench granted an adjournment till April 2 as a last chance.
