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Bengal govt warns universities of action if they pay Raj Bhavan’s lawyers
West Bengal governor CV Ananda Bose’s office earlier asked state-run universities to provide the details of expenses incurred on engaging lawyers in the legal battle against the government
The West Bengal government has warned state-run universities of action if they pay lawyers fighting a case on behalf of the Raj Bhavan against chief minister Mamata Banerjee’s administration in the Supreme Court.
“The state-run universities have been directed to reply within five days on whether they have made any such expenses. Whether they had taken prior permission from the higher education department, under which budgetary allocation of the expenses was made, and whether it was sanctioned by the university’s finance committee. The higher education department would initiate appropriate actions under The West Bengal Universities (Control of Expenditure) Act 1976, once the replies come in,” state education minister Bratya Basu wrote on X.
This comes days after the West Bengal governor CV Ananda Bose’s office told state-run universities to provide the details of expenses incurred on engaging lawyers in the legal battle against the government in the Supreme Court.
“The legal expenses of the advocates engaged to appear in the case SLP 17403/2023 in the Supreme Court may be shared by all the universities concerned and the coordinating university viz. the Calcutta University may make the transactions,” said a letter sent by the Raj Bhavan’s senior special secretary.
The state government moved the Supreme Court in August against Raj Bhavan after Bose, who is the chancellor of state-run universities, appointed interim vice chancellors without consulting it.
“The universities can spend money according to a budget and as per the decisions of the institution’s finance committee. Universities are not the place where a zamindar can use his whip to collect revenue,” Basu wrote.
Bose has had a strained relationship with the state government like his predecessor over a host of issues.
Educationists’ Forum, an association of professors, called Bose’s demand for funds from the universities unprecedented and added it violated rules. “It seeks to pit the universities against the state and its department of higher education and department of finance. Universities are being forced to cough out hefty amounts on litigation against the state government which pays for the universities,” the forum said in a statement.
