‘No politics in VC appointments, Governor and govt should work together’: SC urges immediate appointment of permanent VCs in universities

NEW DELHI: The Supreme Court has issued strict directions to immediately begin the process of appointing permanent Vice-Chancellors (VCs) at the state’s technological and digital universities. The court cautioned that politics should not be mixed with such appointments, stating, “We will not tolerate that.” It further directed that the Governor and the state government must work together in coordination. The bench emphasised that the priority is not a power struggle but the future and education of students.

The observations were made by a bench comprising Justices J.B. Pardiwala and R. Mahadevan while considering the petition filed by the Governor challenging the Kerala High Court’s decision to cancel the appointment of interim Vice-Chancellors of the two universities. The warning came amid the ongoing tussle between Governor Rajendra Vishwanath Arlekar, who also serves as Chancellor of the universities, and the state government over VC appointments at various universities.

The Supreme Court observed that appointing suitable individuals as VCs is of paramount importance and that the process must not remain stalled. It further stated that the appointments must comply with UGC regulations, with the Governor considering recommendations forwarded by the government. Both the Governor and the government were advised to act with students’ interests in mind. The court also noted that the matter would end once permanent VCs are appointed. The Governor’s petition will be considered again on August 13, by which time both parties must submit updates on the progress of VC appointments.

Ciza and Sivaprasad likely to continue

Until permanent VCs are appointed, the Chancellor has the authority to appoint temporary VCs for up to six months. The Governor can either issue a fresh notification allowing the current interim VCs to continue or appoint new individuals. This paves the way for reappointing Dr. K. Sivaprasad as interim VC of APJ Abdul Kalam Technological University and Dr. Ciza Thomas as interim VC of the Digital University — both of whose previous appointments were annulled by the High Court. As interim appointments cannot exceed six months, the Supreme Court said there is no need for further debate on this aspect.

Arguments of Governor and government

• The Governor informed the court that the appointment of interim VCs does not require the state government’s approval. He argued that provisions of the State Universities Act have become irrelevant following the implementation of UGC regulations.
• The impasse over appointing permanent VCs arose due to differences of opinion between the Governor and the state government, which led to the need for interim appointments.
• Senior advocate Jaydeep Gupta, appearing for the state, pointed out that the High Court’s single bench had earlier issued directions to appoint permanent VCs.
• The state government had also filed an intervention petition requesting that no decision be taken without hearing its views.