The Supreme Court has requested names of prominent individuals, including scientists, technocrats, administrators, educators, and jurists, in order to form a search committee and select vice chancellors for West Bengal's 13 state-run universities.
The top court announced on September 15 that it will establish a search committee to choose vice-chancellors after taking note of the ongoing dispute between the state government and the office of the West Bengal governor on the matter.
The court had urged the governor, the state legislature, and the University Grants Commission (UGC) to separately recommend three to five candidates for each university.
On September 27, the matter was taken up by a bench of justices Surya Kant and Dipankar Datta, who noted that "the parties have agreed to submit a tabulated chart giving details of the Universities, the description of the subjects/disciplines which are being taught, the existing provisions for appointment of members in the Search Committee and/or the new provisions which are proposed in the Bill awaiting assent of the Governor."
According to the statement, "The counsel representing the intervenors, etc. shall be at liberty to suggest the names of renowned scientists, technocrats, administrators, educators, jurists, or any other eminent personality for nomination to the Search Committee."
The bench scheduled a hearing for the state government's appeal for October 6 and instructed the parties to finish the exercise of providing names and details by that day.
The Calcutta High Court's June 28 ruling that there was no illegality in the governor's orders appointing interim vice chancellors in 11 state-run universities in his capacity as these institutions' ex-officio chancellor was being appealed by the West Bengal government. The appeal was being heard by the Supreme Court.
The management of the state's universities is the subject of a severe dispute between the Mamata Banerjee administration and Governor C V Ananda Bose.
The bench had noted that the governor's approval was still pending for the state government's bill on VC appointments. It had stated that a search committee to select vice chancellors will be formed by the court itself.
According to counsel Subhasish Bhowmick, who appeared for the office of the governor, "the court has ordered the office of the governor, the state government, and the University Grants Commission to give three to five names for consideration of the bench for the search committee by September 25."
The high court had previously ruled that the relevant statutes give the chancellor the authority to choose vice chancellors.
Governor Bose's directives assigning vice chancellors to state-run universities, according to petitioner Sanat Kumar Ghosh and the West Bengal government, were allegedly unconstitutional because the higher education department was not consulted.
The petitioner claimed that, in defiance of the higher education minister's recommendation, the chancellor appointed several vice chancellors without his input.
The high court had ruled that the way, mode, or method of consultation had to be left up to the governor, who served as the vice chancellors' appointing authority, and that the consultee could not impose terms on the chancellor about the form or methodology that was to be used.
The University of Calcutta, University of Kalyani, and Jadavpur University are among the universities whose interim vice chancellors were appointed on June 1.
0 Comments