E-Paper
Three professors in HC against chancellor’s decision to reject their election to PU senate
They argued that approval could be declined the lection to PU senate by the chancellor only on the grounds that the person elected was likely to draw pecuniary advantage from the university
Three Panjab University professors have challenged the varsity chancellor’s decision to reject their election to the senate from the constituency of faculties.
In their plea to the Punjab and Haryana high court, the petitioners have demanded that the decision be quashed and that varsity be restrained from convening any meeting of the senate without their notification as elected members.
On April 6, varsity chancellor and Vice-President of India M Venkaiah Naidu had refused to approve the election of six candidates from the constituency of faculties. Among them three – Keshav Malhotra, Navdeep Goyal and Ronki Ram – have challenged his decision in court.
The high court bench of justice Raj Mohan Singh, while seeking a response from the varsity and the chancellor by July 6, said any process of election will be subject to the decision in the plea filed by these three professors.
They argued that approval could be declined by the chancellor only on the grounds that the person elected was likely to draw pecuniary advantage from the university.
Regulation 34 of the PU Calendar made it clear that the power conferred upon the chancellor was limited to the extent of according approval and there was no provision, wherein he could withhold or reject such approval without citing any reason, they submitted.
While rejecting the election of the six candidates, the chancellor had asked the PU registrar to immediately issue a fresh notice of elections for the constituency. Apart from the three professors who moved court, the other three candidates were Ashok Goyal, Rajesh Gill and Anu Chatrath. All six are former senators.
