Appointment of V-Cs in violation of UGC norms null and void, can lead to legal complications: UGC tells TN
University Grants Commission has written to the Tamil Nadu chief secretary, objecting to the constitution of search-cum-selection committees for the appointment of vice-chancellors to state universities without a nominee of the commission chairman, sources said. Referring to a notification dated September 13 in the Tamil Nadu government gazette to constitute a search committee to recommend a panel of three persons for the selection of vice-chancellor for the University of Madras, the University Grants Commission (UGC) has warned that the appointment of a vice-chancellor in violation of the higher-education regulator's norms shall be «null and void» and can lead to legal complications.
«The UGC has pointed out a Supreme Court judgement from last year, referring to the appointment of the vice-chancellor at Sardar Patel University, Gujarat. The Supreme Court had noted that the appointment of vice-chancellors cannot be made dehors the applicable UGC regulations, even if the State Act concerned prescribes diluted eligibility criteria vis-a-vis the criteria prescribed by UGC regulations,» a source said.
Tamil Nadu Governor RN Ravi and the state's DMK-led government have been at loggerheads about the appointments of vice-chancellors.
The present issue began on September 6 after the governor announced the constitution of three search-cum-selection committees to appoint vice-chancellors to three institutions — the University of Madras, Bharathiar University in Coimbatore and the Tamil Nadu Teachers Education University in Chennai.
He also introduced a fourth member in the committee by nominating a person on behalf of the UGC chairman.
On September 13, the state's higher education department issued a notification for a
