Chennai: Madras High Court has quashed appointment of Dr C. Thangamuthu as a search committee member for the selection of vice chancellor of MKU.
The division bench comprising Justice S. Manikumar and Justice Subramonium Prasad, before which a petition from Mahalingam of Chennai, alumni of the University, came up for hearing on Tuesday, said the order of appointment of Dr Thangamuthu by proceedings dated June 16, 2018 as a syndicate nominee for the search committee is set-aside.
The petitioner stated that despite the order passed by the first bench of this court dated June 14, 2018, by which it has set aside the appointment of Professor PP Chelladurai as vice-chancellor of MKU to strictly follow the rules and statues to ensure that the suitability and eligibility of the persons to be selected for the panel for the post of VC are not compromised, the university repeated the faulty exercise again in a hasty and hurried manner.
While directing the university to follow the guidelines issued by the First Bench and the procedure contemplated under statue to be followed the bench said “In the case on hand the senate nominee to the search committee is stated to have been done by following the procedure as contemplated in the Act but the procedure in respect of syndicate nominee has not been followed by issuing notification and 14 days were not given”.
The bench further said “There are no materials in the file to indicate that there was a pressure or influence in syndicate members but as rightly contended by the petitioner the meeting has been convened just two days after the pronouncement of the order dated June 14,2018, by the first bench which has granted three months of time to constitute a search committee by following procedures. Undisputedly, the said procedure has not been followed in the matter of selection of syndicate nominee. But as rightly contended by the counsel for the petitioner the meeting has been convened just two days after pronouncement of the order dated June 14, 2018 by the First Bench. When the convener committee has directed a meeting of syndicate on June 16, 2018, within just two days after the pronouncement of the judgment by the First Bench to select syndicate nominee there is nothing to indicate as to why the procedure contemplated for selection of nominee is not followed. Hence, the order of appointment of Dr Thangamuthu by a proceeding dated June 16, 2018, as a syndicate nominee for the search committee is set aside.”
