PIL against V-C selection

A public interest litigation has now been filed in the Bombay High Court which has challenged the selection process adopted by the search committee and the appointment of Rajan Welukar as the vice chancellor of Mumbai University.

A public interest litigation (PIL) has now been filed in the Bombay High Court which has challenged the selection process adopted by the search committee and the appointment of Rajan Welukar as the vice chancellor of Mumbai University.

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Two days ago, a Thane-based environmentalist filed a writ petition on the same issue in the Bombay High Court. Vasant Ganu Patil, a Thane resident and social worker has filed the PIL. The PIL states that the V-C selection is "not in conformity of the provisions of the Maharashtra Universities Act".

The PIL asks the court to call for "records pertaining to the appointment of the search committee".

It adds that according to the revised regulation, the search committee will be chaired by a member to be nominated by the Chancellor, who will be the retired judge of the Supreme Court/retired Chief Justice of a High Court or an eminent scientist of national repute or a recipient of Padma Award in the field of education.

It alleges that among all the candidates called for interactions, Welukar "was the only person who was not a professor but a lecturer".