The Supreme Court has postponed the hearing on the dispute over appointment of vice-chancellors in West Bengal’s state-aided universities to January. The adjournment came after the Attorney General informed the court that positive developments have taken place.
New Delhi: The Supreme Court on Wednesday postponed the hearing of a petition related to the appointment of regular vice-chancellors (VCs) in state-aided universities in West Bengal. The matter will now be taken up for hearing in January next year.
A bench headed by Chief Justice of India Surya Kant and Justice Joymalya Bagchi considered the submissions made by Attorney General R Venkataramani, who appeared on behalf of the office of West Bengal Governor C V Ananda Bose.
During the hearing, the Attorney General informed the court that
“some positive developments have been made in the case.”
Taking note of this submission, and at the joint request of both the Attorney General and the counsel representing the West Bengal government, the Supreme Court decided to adjourn the matter and listed it for hearing in January.
The case arises from an ongoing and long-standing dispute between the Governor of West Bengal and Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee over the appointment of vice-chancellors in 36 state-aided universities across the state.
Due to this dispute, several universities have been functioning without regularly appointed vice-chancellors.
Earlier, in an attempt to resolve the constitutional deadlock between the Governor and the state government, the Supreme Court had intervened. On July 8 last year, the apex court constituted a search-cum-selection committee to oversee the appointment of vice-chancellors.
The committee was headed by former Chief Justice of India U U Lalit, with the aim of ensuring a fair and neutral selection process.
The Supreme Court has also been examining another connected issue regarding the West Bengal Universities (Amendment) Bill, 2022.
On April 22, the court had sought a response from the Governor’s office on a plea alleging delay and inaction in granting assent to the Bill, which was passed by the West Bengal Legislative Assembly in June 2022.
The amendment bill seeks to replace the Governor with the Chief Minister as the Chancellor of all state-run universities in West Bengal. This proposed change has been one of the key points of conflict between the Raj Bhavan and the state government.
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In April, the Supreme Court had issued notice to the Principal Secretary to the Governor and the Union of India, directing them to file their replies within four weeks. The court is now monitoring the developments closely, while hoping that the parties involved can reach a workable solution.
With the hearing deferred to January, the Supreme Court is expected to review the progress made and decide on the future course of action concerning the appointment of vice-chancellors and the constitutional issues involved.
Case Title:
State of West Bengal v. Dr. Sanat Kumar Ghosh
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