SC to decide validity of Madras HC stay on Tamil Nadu law on University VC appointments
on Friday entertained Tamil Nadu's petition questioning reasonableness of Madras HC's order staying its legislation, which gave the state government, instead of the governor, the power to appoint University vice-chancellors, but refused M K Stalin government's plea for suspending the HC order to re-operationalize the law.
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TN fielded a team of senior advocates – A M Singhvi, Rakesh Dwivedi and P Wilson – to argue that the HC had without considering the urgency to appoint vice-chancellors to universities, recommendations to which effect has been put in cold-storage by the Governor, stayed the legislation.
The law giving state govt the power to appoint VCs to universities was stayed along with nine other laws, Bills for which were reserved for the President's consideration by the governor but were regarded as deemed to have been approved by President in a controversial unprecedented ruling by a two-judge SC bench on Apr 8.
Three days after the 'deemed to have been approved' ruling by the SC, which now is subject to a Constitution bench's opinion on a Presidential Reference questioning the use of Article 142 power of the SC to virtually obliterate roles assigned by the Constitution to President and Governors on Bills passed by Assemblies, the TN govt had notified the nine bills as laws.
The bench refused to stay the HC order but asked the UGC and the public interest litigation petitioner before the HC to respond to TN's petition in four weeks.
For UGC, solicitor general Tushar Mehta said the law is palpably contrary to the UGC Regulations which empower only governors to appoint VCs to the universities.
When the senior advocates pleaded that they would argue before the HC for vacation of the stay, Mehta said that in that case the TN must withdraw its petition seeking transfer of the PIL from Madras HC to the SC. 'The state cannot have both options open at the same time and be permitted to argue before the HC that the SC is considering transfer of the PIL to itself,' he said.
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Wilson sought expunging of certain 'harsh remarks' against him by the HC merely because he was pointing out the SC's 2-J bench order. Justices Narasimha and Mahadevan said this request would be considered by the SC during the final hearing on the TN's petition.
One of the Acts, notified on Apr 11 by the state related to vesting in the state govt the powers of the Governor, as Chancellor, to appoint vice-chancellors of universities in the state.
A vacation bench of the HC on May 21 granted stay on this amending provision, holding that UGC Regulations, 2018, would prevail over the state legislation by virtue of doctrine of repugnancy.
The state said it had raised the objection to the delay in filing of the PIL but the division bench of the HC 'did not even call for an explanation from the Registry of the HC or the Petitioner but proceeded to hear the case in a tearing hurry.' The HC 'showed undue haste', did not even give a week's time to the state to file its counter affidavit, and passed the stay order 'for extraneous reasons', it said, adding that the impugned order is replete with personal attacks on the senior counsel who appeared for the state.
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