The Supreme Court has directed West Bengal Governor C V Ananda Bose to appoint six candidates as vice-chancellors (VCs) from a list provided by the state government, headed by Mamata Banerjee. This decision comes amidst ongoing disputes between the state government and the governor over the management of state-run universities.
Attorney General R Venkataramani, representing the chancellor, confirmed to the court that the governor has approved six names from the list submitted by the state government. The court ordered the immediate appointment of these individuals and requested that a fresh list of candidates be provided for additional VC appointments.
The bench, consisting of Justices Surya Kant and K V Vishwanathan, expressed intentions to potentially establish a search committee to aid in selecting candidates for the remaining VC positions at state universities, aiming to amicably resolve the ongoing governance conflict.
This directive aligns with previous requests from the Supreme Court for the governor, state government, and University Grants Commission (UGC) to propose names for a search-cum-selection committee responsible for the VC appointments.
During the proceedings, the Attorney General also addressed accusations by senior advocate Abhishek Singhvi, representing the state government, that the governor was obstructing the legislative process by withholding approval for a Bill passed by the West Bengal Assembly.
This bill proposed expanding the search committee for appointing VCs from three to five members, which the opposition BJP claimed would increase the ruling party's influence over these appointments.
The Supreme Court has scheduled a follow-up hearing for April 30 to further address this issue. In previous sessions, the court had encouraged the Attorney General to mediate between the conflicting parties to ensure that only eminent individuals are appointed as VCs, reflecting its commitment to maintaining educational standards and resolving the administrative deadlock affecting numerous state-run universities in West Bengal.
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