Madras high court sets aside appointment of VC to Madurai Kamaraj University
Chennai: Finding fault with the convener of the Search Committee which nominated Dr P.P. Chellathurai for the post of Vice-Chancellor of the Madurai Kamaraj University, the Madras High Court on Thursday set aside his appointment as VC. Dr. P. P. Chellathurai was appointed as VC of the prestigious University in May last year.
When the petitions filed by M. Lionel Antony Raj and 'Traffic' Ramaswamy challenging his appointment as VC came up for hearing, the first bench comprising Chief Justice Indira Banerjee and Justice M.Sundar said “We set aside the appointment of Dr. P.P. Chellathurai, as VC of MKU on the ground that the proceedings of the Search Committee are flawed without expressing any opinion on eligibility and noticing that Dr.P.P.Chellathurai has been dropped/deleted from the criminal case/charge sheet after Dr C. Murukadas, Convener, Vice-Chancellor Search Committee for Madurai Kamaraj University, acted in a highhanded manner. Opposing his behaviour, a member had resigned. The final meeting of the Committee was held on May 19, 2017 at a hotel near Raj Bhavan.
The process of elimination of names and inclusion of three names was hurriedly thrust upon two members by the Convenor in the fifth and final meeting.
The Convenor abruptly mentioned and insisted that the name of Dr. Chelladurai should be included in the panel. In the first four meetings, the process of selection or evaluation of the merits and demerits of the various applicants had not commenced. There was virtually no meeting as on May 19, 2017 when the selection committee hurriedly proceeded to Raj Bhavan and handed over a panel of three names. The petitioner also alleged that a criminal case against the VC was pending.
The bench said “a University is a seat of learning and the highest seat in a University is so sanctus that the selection process cannot just be a routine, but should be a rigour by itself. Universities are prime movers, which catalyse the ever expanding vistas of knowledge and learning. Such institutions are not limited to literacy programmes, but are crucial components of the machinery of nation building education, as they define, develop and decide the destiny of generations to come. Perceived from this point of view, this court is of the considered opinion that offices of such nature are so sanctus that when there are statutory violations in selection procedure, the curative response is non-negotiable and inevitable.”
Recommending constitution of a fresh Search Committee for nominating VC to the Varsity, the bench said “Considering the high office that is in question, the VC of a reputed University like MKU, wherein the Vice-Chancellor shall not only be the academic head, but also the Chief Executive Officer of the entire University, we consider it necessary to take a view that the Search Committee has to be constituted afresh and the process of selection has to be redone”.
There is a clear violation of statute of Madurai Kamaraj University Act 1965 and, more importantly, such violation pertains to the selection process and procedure, the bench said. While unseating the VC, the bench issued certain directions for redoing the selection process and appointment of VC of MKU in accordance with the statute and by following the process and procedure for selection in letter and spirit. The process shall be completed within a period of three months.
