The Supreme Court on Wednesday said it would set up a search committee for the appointment of vice chancellors to two universities in Kerala to end a stalemate between state government and the governor and told the two sides to submit four names each within a day for consideration as members of the search panel.
A bench of justices JB Pardiwala and R Mahadevan said, “In the larger interest, since you have not been able to arrive at a consensus, we will appoint a Search Committee.” The five-member search committee will have four members along with a nominee of the University Grants Commission (UGC). The court asked the lawyers representing the two constitutional authorities to suggest four names each out of which the court will constitute the committee.
On July 30, the court had expressed anguish over the prevailing stalemate over the appointment of vice chancellors to the APJ Abdul Kalam Technological University and the Digital University of Kerala. It had directed the process of appointing regular V-Cs to commence soon and urged both sides to avoid confrontation and work harmoniously without bringing in politics keeping the best interests of students and the institutions in mind.
On Wednesday, two weeks after its last order, the court observed, “We are requesting you with folded hands. The Chancellor (Governor) and government should sit over a cup of coffee and resolve this. Why create this stalemate at the stage of appointment of the Search Committee.”
{{/usCountry}}On Wednesday, two weeks after its last order, the court observed, “We are requesting you with folded hands. The Chancellor (Governor) and government should sit over a cup of coffee and resolve this. Why create this stalemate at the stage of appointment of the Search Committee.”
{{/usCountry}}Attorney General R Venkataramani appearing for the governor Rajendra Arlekar said that pursuant to the last order, the Governor held extensive consultations with the state government. He told the court that, as directed by the court,, the Chancellor issued an order extending the tenure of temporary V-C at APJ Abdul Kalam University till the appointment of a regular V-C.
The state opposed this notification claiming that the Chancellor did not consult the state before issuing the notification. Senior advocate Jaideep Gupta appearing for the state along with advocate CK Sasi said, “Section 13(7) of the APJ Abdul Kalam Technological University Act, 2015, allows appointment of VC to be recommended by the state. There is no power struggle but the Chancellor wants to ensure there is no role of the Kerala government in appointment of V-C. So the very nature of appointment affects federal structure envisaged under the Constitution.”
The court told AG Venkataramani that its July 30 order had reproduced section 13(7) of the Act emphasising that the procedure as per law should be followed. However, since it was undertaking the process of appointing regular V-C on its own, it said, “It is our request to the state. Don’t precipitate the issue with regard to temporary V-C appointments. Let us put an end to this impasse.”
AG Venkataramani pointed out that the similar issue prevailed with regard to temporary appointment of V-C for Digital University, governed by Section 11(10) of Digital University Act, which is akin to section 13(7). He informed the court that the Chancellor has been receiving requests from the V-C complaining about no financial audit being done at the University for the past five years.
Gupta said that the unilateral approach adopted by the Governor was struck down by the Kerala high court last year,which held the constitution of the Search Committee to be contrary to the statute. He said that the state on July 12 initiated the process for having a Search Committee to appoint regular V-Cs, but the Chancellor formed a separate committee. The AG clarified that the committee proposed by the Chancellor is as per the UGC regulations. However, Kerala government maintained that the power to constitute a Search Committee belongs to the state.
The proceedings before the top court were initiated by the Chancellor challenging a July 14 Kerala high court decision setting aside his order appointing V-Cs to the two universities. The high court order came after the Left Democratic Front (LDF) government objected to the November 27, 2024 notification on V-C appointments issued by the governor.
The legal tussle between governor and state government over appointment of V-Cs is not limited only to Kerala. The top court is also considering a petition filed by the West Bengal government challenging the inaction of the Raj Bhavan to clear names of V-Cs for 36 universities in the eastern state. After the court intervened and appointed former CJI UU Lalit to head a panel for selecting V-Cs for each university, 34 appointments have come through.