SC agrees to constitute search committee for V-Cs' appointments in APJ Abdul Kalam Technological University and Digital University Kerala
A Bench of Justice J.B. Pardiwala and Justice R. Mahadevan said it would appoint the search committee.
It asked the State and the Governor to provide, by August 14, four names each for inclusion on the five-member search panel. The court would select four names for the search committee from both lists. The fifth member of the search committee would be nominated by the University Grants Commission (UGC).
Justice Pardiwala said neither the Governor nor the State should insist on appointing interim V-Cs.
'Our endeavour is to appoint regular V-Cs. Today the entire problem is with the constitution of a search committee. We will help you out. We will constitute a search committee, which would give an opinion as to who are fit enough to be V-Cs. Then, you (Chancellor-State Governor would sit in consultation with the State government and select one for the digital university and another for the technology university,' Justice Pardiwala addressed Attorney General R. Venkataramani, appearing for the Chancellor-Governor.
Mr. Venkataramani said the Governor had only appointed interim V-Cs from serving V-Cs of other universities. 'We had done nothing wrong,' the top law officer submitted.
He was referring to how the Kerala High Court had quashed Chancellor's appointment of temporary V-Cs to the universities without consulting with the State government.
'This is not a power struggle. This is a federal issue. We have an underlying common culture in this country. But every State is very different. So, therefore, education is on the Concurrent List. The Chancellor is trying to ensure there is no whiff of Kerala in his appointments. Like this, the federal nature of the process would get diluted,' senior advocate Jaideep Gupta and advocate CK Sasi, appearing for Kerala, submitted.
Mr. Gupta said the 'unilateral' appointment of interim V-Cs for six months by the Chancellor was in breach of Section 13(7) of the Technological University Act. The provision mandated that interim V-Cs should be appointed only on the recommendation of the State government'.
Justice Pardiwala responded to Mr. Gupta's submission by reading out the court's July 30 order in the case, which said 'in the event a vacancy of Vice-Chancellor arises the Chancellor may appoint a Vice-Chancellor of any other university or the Pro-Vice Chancellor of the university itself or the Secretary to the Government, Higher Education Department 'as recommended by the government'.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Indian Express
2 hours ago
- Indian Express
Omar owes an apology, not a signature campaign: Opposition tears into CM over statehood ‘theatrics'
As Chief Minister Omar Abdullah said he will launch a signature campaign to seek statehood for Jammu and Kashmir, the opposition, in a scathing attack, said he 'owes an apology and not a signature campaign'. Saying that signature campaigns have no legal or constitutional sanctity, the opposition questioned his 'reluctance' in passing a resolution for statehood in the assembly. 'Omar Abdullah owes an apology, not a signature campaign for normalising 5th August. With 50 MLAs behind him, he has reduced the fight for J&K's statehood to token gestures, after seeking votes door-to-door on the promise of restoring pre–5th August status,' senior Peoples Democratic Party leader Waheed Para said. 'This is not just a retreat, it is a betrayal. The people gave him a historic mandate to fight for Article 370 and statehood, not to stage political theatre.' Para said that if Omar has already surrendered, he 'must admit it and apologise to every citizen of J&K for selling promises he never intended to keep'. In his Independence Day speech, Omar said, 'We will have to leave the offices, and now we will have to raise our voice to those doors where our decisions are being made. Till now, through letters, resolutions, and meetings, we have raised our voice. Now we are going to raise our voice from every village of J&K to Delhi.' 'My intention today is that the Supreme Court has given us eight weeks… Henceforth, my colleagues and I will not sit idle. We will not get tired. We will use these eight weeks to reach every 90 assembly constituencies of J&K,' he said. Peoples Conference president Sajad Lone questioned the logic behind launching a signature campaign, saying that a resolution in the assembly instead would have constitutional dignity. 'Signature campaigns have no legal or constitutional sanctity,' Lone said while promising support for any movement towards statehood. 'Can CM sahib please, once and for all times to come, explain his reluctance to have a resolution for statehood passed in the Legislative Assembly. Let us approach the Supreme Court as a constitutional entity.' Calling the door-to-door signature campaign 'theatrics', Lone assured unconditional support for the statehood campaign. 'I would strongly assert that pass a resolution in the state Assembly. That is the most dignified way to approach the Supreme Court,' Lone said. 'Please tell me, are you shielding and protecting the state BJP and giving them the luxury of not taking a position on statehood by not passing a resolution on statehood?'
Time of India
3 hours ago
- Time of India
Parades, felicitations mark fete in central, south TN
1 2 Madurai/Trichy: Hoisting of the tricolour, colourful display of cultural programmes, and felicitations of service by people from various fields marked Independence Day celebrations in south and central Tamil Nadu districts on Friday. Madurai collector K J Praveen Kumar unfurled the National Flag at Armed Reserve ground in the city in the presence of Prem Anand Sinha, IG, south zone, J Loganathan, city commissioner of police, and other senior officials. Accompanied by SP Arvind, he accepted the guard of honour during the parade and released white doves. Freedom fighters and their kin were honoured with shawls. Welfare assistance worth Rs42.2 lakh was distributed to 42 beneficiaries. As many as 317 people were felicitated with certificates and shields for their service in various govt departments and for social work. 'Green Champion' awards were won by G Ashok Kumar and S Sathish Kumar, while the group award was won by 'Yanaimalai Green Foundation' led by govt school headmaster M Thennavanan. More than 1,000 students from eight schools performed cultural programmes. In Trichy, collector V Saravanan hoisted the national flag at the celebrations at Armed Reserve Police Ground. by Taboola by Taboola Sponsored Links Sponsored Links Promoted Links Promoted Links You May Like Use an AI Writing Tool That Actually Understands Your Voice Grammarly Install Now Undo Police parades and cultural events were presented. Saravanan also distributed welfare aids worth Rs18.15 lakh to ten beneficiaries. Central zone IG Joshi Nirmal Kumar, Trichy range DIG V Varun Kumar, city police commissioner N Kamini, superintendent of police S Selvanagarathinam, and senior officials from various departments were present. Madurai corporation's celebrations were held at Aringar Anna Maligai in the presence of mayor V Indrani Ponvasanth, commissioner Chitra Vijayan and others. The 13 corporation schools that secured the first three ranks in Class X and Class XII public examinations were recognised and six headmasters who achieved 100% pass result received mementoes. A total of 67 sanitary workers, as well as doctors and health officials who worked in sanitation, were presented with appreciation certificates. The administrative judge of Madurai bench of Madras high court, Justice S M Subramaniam, hoisted the national flag at the bench campus. Justice S M Subramaniam inspected the guard of honour presented by CISF personnel. At Sri Meenakshi Sundareswarar temple, special prayers were conducted, and a grand public feast was organised. Clothes such as sarees and dhotis received as donations by the temple were given away to elderly and abandoned persons. At Govt Rajaji Hospital in Madurai, the flag was hoisted by dean Dr L Arul Sundaresh Kumar. In the delta region, collectors B Priyanka Pankajam, V Mohanachandran, P Akash, and HS Srikanth unfurled the tricolours and led the celebrations in Thanjavur, Tiruvarur, Nagapattinam, and Mayiladuthurai respectively. Collectors M Aruna, M Thangavel, P. Arunraj, and P. Rathinasamy led in Pudukottai, Karur, Perambalur, and Ariyalur, respectively. The collectors honoured freedom fighters, awarded officials for excellence, and witnessed cultural events. They also participated in the grama sabha in villages on the occasion. Stay updated with the latest local news from your city on Times of India (TOI). Check upcoming bank holidays , public holidays , and current gold rates and silver prices in your area. Get the latest lifestyle updates on Times of India, along with Happy Krishna Janmashtami Wishes ,, messages , and quotes !
Hindustan Times
4 hours ago
- Hindustan Times
Interacting with judicial candidates helpful: CJI
Chief Justice of India (CJI) Bhushan R Gavai on Friday described the collegium's recent practice of personally interacting with candidates being considered for high court appointments as 'really helpful,' saying that even a brief 10-15 minute conversation can reveal how suitable a nominee would be in contributing to society. Chief Justice of India Bhushan Gavai visited his alma mater, Chikitsak Samuh's school in Girgaon, in Mumbai, on July 6. (Ayushman Poyrekar/HT Photo) Speaking at the Supreme Court complex during Independence Day celebrations, the CJI underlined that the exercise, revived in December 2024 and now firmly embedded in the appointments process, has strengthened the collegium's ability to assess candidates' temperament, outlook and commitment beyond what can be gleaned from service records or paper credentials. 'In our opinion, after interaction with them for 10-15 minutes, or half an hour, we can find out as to how suitable they will be to contribute to society,' he said, noting that the practice was initiated during Justice Sanjiv Khanna's tenure as CJI and has been continued under his leadership. The latest round in July saw the collegium, comprising CJI Gavai and justices Surya Kant and Vikram Nath, meet more than 50 judicial officers and lawyers over just two days, setting a record for the highest number of face-to-face interactions in one go for high court appointments. Candidates were considered for the high courts of Madhya Pradesh, Punjab & Haryana, Patna, Rajasthan and others. According to people familiar with the process, the trio, who include the next two CJIs in line, asked wide-ranging questions on constitutional values, pressing legal issues, ethics and institutional responsibility. This model, the CJI on Friday said, reflected the collegium's awareness of the need to evolve and adopt all measures required to enhance the efficiency and transparency of the judges' selection mechanism. Responding to Supreme Court Bar Association president Vikas Singh's call for a body to collate names of potential appointees to the constitutional courts, the CJI stressed that several lawyers practising in the apex court had in recent years been appointed to various high courts and that more such recommendations were in the pipeline. While the Supreme Court collegium could suggest names to high court collegiums, the first call, he emphasised, lay with the latter. 'The Supreme Court is not a superior court to the high court. Both are constitutional courts… Therefore, the first call has to be taken by the high court collegium. We only recommend the names… and only after their satisfaction do the names come to the Supreme Court,' he said. The revival of in-person interactions last December followed a controversy over judicial conduct involving Justice Shekhar Kumar Yadav of the Allahabad High Court, whose communal remarks at a public event earlier that month drew widespread criticism. At the time, the collegium, then led by Justice Khanna and including justices Gavai and Kant, saw such interviews as a way to ensure a more holistic understanding of a candidate's suitability. Union minister for law and justice Arjun Ram Meghwal, attorney general R Venkataramani, SCBA vice-president and senior advocate Rahul Kaushik and SCBA secretary Pragya Baghel were also present at the event. In the second half of his speech, CJI Gavai turned to the role of the judiciary in protecting constitutional ideals. He called on judges to interpret laws in ways that 'expand freedom, protect the rights of the marginalized, and strengthen the rule of law,' and urged both judges and lawyers to carry forward the legacy of the freedom struggle's legal luminaries, who 'argued fearlessly, challenged injustice, and defended the rights of the vulnerable.' He invoked a vision of India where 'no child is denied education because of her caste or poverty,' no woman 'walks in fear, by day or by night,' and 'no citizen is too small to be heard.' Judges, he stressed, bore the solemn duty not just to apply the law but to 'actively uphold and embody' liberty, equality, and fraternity. 'Our history teaches us that the struggle for freedom was not only a political movement but also a moral and legal endeavour…This legacy must guide the lawyers of today,' said the CJI, urging legal professionals to recognise that even seemingly minor disputes may carry deep implications for life, dignity or survival. Ends
