"VC will not be appointed as Governor's notification is being challenged", says AG before MHC

CHENNAI: The Advocate General (AG) of the State submitted before the Madras High Court (MHC) that the government will not take any action in appointing Vice-Chancellor (VC) to the Madras University as the case challenging the notification issued by the Governor to constitute a search panel is pending before the Supreme Court (SC).

The first division bench comprising Chief Justice SV Gangapurwala and Justice D Bharatha Chakravarthy heard a petition preferred by advocate B. Jagannath seeking inclusion of the University Grants Commission (UGC) nominee in the VC search panel.

The petitioner had urged the court to quash a Government Order (G.O.) issued by the Higher Education Department on September 13, 2023, constituting a three-member search panel and, consequently, direct the State government to reconstitute the panel by including a UGC nominee.

AG R Shunmugasundaram appeared for the State and submitted that the Governor, on September 6, 2023, has issued a notification to constitute a 4-member search panel including a UGC nominee.

The notification is challenged by the State and it is still pending before the SC, said the AG. As the case is scheduled on January 23 before SC, until then the State will not take any action appointing the VC.

After the submission, the bench adjourned the matter on February 5 for further hearing.