Latest news with #KVenkatachalapathy
New Indian Express
23-05-2025
- Politics
- New Indian Express
Madras High Court stays TN amendments on V-C appointments, cites unconstitutionality
CHENNAI: A vacation bench of the Madras High Court, which temporarily stayed the operation of the 10 amendment Acts that took away the powers to appoint vice-chancellors (V-C) to state-run universities from Governor-Chancellor, in its order, reasoned that it cannot 'shut its eyes on the unconstitutionality of the Acts'. The 10 Acts were granted 'deemed assent' by the Supreme Court on April 8 in its verdict in the case filed by the Tamil Nadu government against Governor R N Ravi, following which the state government notified the Acts on April 11. The bench passed the interim orders based on the petitions filed by a BJP functionary and advocate K Venkatachalapathy, whose main contention was that the amendments were repugnant to Regulation 7.3 of the UGC Regulations on Minimum Qualifications for Appointment of Teachers and Other Academic Staff in Universities and Colleges, 2018, dealing with appointment of V-Cs. In its order, the bench of justices G R Swaminathan and V Lakshminarayanan said there was no legal hurdle for the high court to subject the amendment Acts to judicial review since the SC has not tested the constitutionality of the legislations in its judgment. Moreover, the bench observed that there is no stay on the applicability of the particular UGC regulation. 'The unconstitutionality and repugnancy vitiating the impugned amendment Acts is so glaring and obvious that we cannot shut our eyes. We are convinced the amendments are ex-facie unconstitutional. If an unconstitutional process is allowed to proceed, it would cause irreparable injury and public interest would suffer,' the bench said.
India Today
22-05-2025
- India Today
Madras High Court seeks report from Tamil Nadu government on 41 cases in liquor scam
The Madras High Court has sought a status report from the Tamil Nadu government on 41 cases related to an alleged Rs 1,000 crore Tamil Nadu State Marketing Corporation (Tasmac) directive came during the hearing of a public interest litigation filed by K Venkatachalapathy, a lawyer from Tirunelveli, who claimed that several FIRs had been filed alleging that liquor sold through Tasmac outlets was overpriced, pointing to irregularities worth Rs 1,000 to the petition, the FIRs were registered by the Directorate of Vigilance and Anti-Corruption (DVAC) between 2017 and 2024. The Enforcement Directorate (ED) subsequently initiated a case under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA) and conducted raids in March this year. Venkatachalapathy urged the court to transfer the investigation to the CBI, alleging that the state government was obstructing the ED's probe and sought a stay on the state conducting any further investigation into the GR Swaminathan and Lakshmi Narayanan heard the matter. Advocate General PS Raman, appearing for the state, said the Supreme Court had mandated that accused persons must be heard before cases are transferred to other agencies. He urged the court to add the accused as bench inquired whether the state would ensure the FIRs are not closed in the meantime. In response, the AG acknowledged that a petition to close the FIRs had been filed in a lower court, but assured that the Home Secretary would be advised against pursuing closure of the Tasmac-related cases until the next court granted the state three weeks to add the accused as counter-petitioners and submit the status report. IN THIS STORY#Tamil Nadu
India Today
14-05-2025
- Politics
- India Today
PIL against Tamil Nadu bills passed after Supreme Court ruling on Governor's powers
A Public Interest Litigation (PIL) has been filed in the Madras High Court challenging the 10 Amendment Acts passed after the Supreme Court verdict which declared Tamil Nadu Governor RN Ravi sitting on bills as 'illegal'.The amendments, for the first time, bypassed the Governor's approval, giving the State Government the power to appoint Vice Chancellors and making the Chief Minister the Chancellor of state-run universities, replacing the controversy began when the DMK-led State Government filed a case against the Governor in the Supreme Court, which ruled that the 10 re-passed Bills had received assent under Article Court further stated that the Governor does not have "pocket veto" powers and set a timeline of one to three months for the Governor to act on a Bill, depending on the three options provided. The PIL, filed by K Venkatachalapathy, seeks to declare the 12th Amendment Act null and petitioner argues that the amendments violate University Grants Commission (UGC) regulations, which mandate the Chancellor panel to appoint the Vice-Chancellor based on recommendations from a search petitioner also questions the ambiguity around the term 'Government' in the Acts, asking whether it refers to the Assembly, Cabinet, or Executive Head of the GR Swaminathan and Justice V Lakshmi admitted the petition and have ordered the State and Central Governments to make their submissions by next week. The matter is scheduled for hearing on May 21st. IN THIS STORY#Tamil Nadu
