27-05-2025
Supreme Court lists T.N. plea to transfer Vice-Chancellors' appointment case from Madras HC in July
The Supreme Court, on Monday (May 26, 2025), agreed to hear in July a plea by Tamil Nadu to transfer a writ petition challenging statutes related to the appointment of Vice-Chancellors in the State.
The transfer petition filed by the State came up before a Bench of Justices Surya Kant and Dipankar Datta. The court scheduled the case next on July 29.
The State was represented by senior advocates A.M. Singhvi and P. Wilson. Solicitor General Tushar Mehta along with Dhamma Seshadri Naidu appeared for the University Grants Commission. They urged the Bench to post the case after the ongoing summer vacations in the court.
Mr. Wilson said the transfer plea dealt with an issue involving principles of natural justice, and such matters are usually prioritised for hearing during the vacations.
The Madras High Court had, on May 21, stayed the operation of a series of amending laws which shifted the power of appointment of Vice-Chancellors in State-run universities from the Governor to the Tamil Nadu government.
A Vacation Bench of the High Court had granted the interim stay based on a plea by advocate K. Venkatachalapathy, who had challenged the legality of the amendments.
The advocate had primarily challenged the State laws on the ground that they were repugnant to Regulation 7.3 of the University Grants Commission Regulations on Minimum Qualifications for Appointment of Teachers and Other Academic Staff in Universities and Colleges, 2018.
