MSU vice-chancellor resigns, his lawyer informs Gujarat HC

Even as Shrivastava’s tenure ends on February 8, his lawyer Mrugen Purohit told the Division Bench of Chief Justice Sunita Agarwal and Justice Pranav Trivedi on Wednesday of the resignation. However, Advocate General Kamal Trivedi informed the court that the charge of the post had to be handed over to another person and therefore, the final acceptance of the resignation would be done by Thursday.

The HC was hearing a petition filed by Senior Professor Satish Pathak of the Department of Education challenging the February 10, 2022 appointment of Shrivastava.

On January 3, the state government had informed the court that a search committee had been constituted to decide the appointment of the Vice-Chancellor of MS University and 80 applications had been received for the same. The state also informed the court that the new VC for MSU would be appointed by February 8, the end of Shrivastava’s term.

Shrivastava’s tenure of about three years has seen controversies and protests within the campus. It was in November 2023 that Pathak approached the Gujarat High Court, seeking a PIL, contending that the appointment of Shrivastava was “illegal” as he did not fulfill the eligibility University Grants Commission (UGC) criteria of 10 years of experience as a professor.

Speaking to The Indian Express on Wednesday, Pathak said, “The main procedural contention was that Shrivastava had only three years and three months of experience as against the required UGC requirement of 10 years. The fact that this development has occurred and the state government has decided to accept his resignation is indeed a good sign for MSU. The University needs a good administrator and more importantly, a good human being. That should be the priority for the government in deciding the next candidate. In the interim for about a month until February 9, the charge should be handed over to a senior professor, who has passion for MSU… Since the resignation has happened, it is likely that the government may also expedite the appointment of a Vice-Chancellor.”

Pathak, who has been a two-term senate member of the university, had also made a reference to the Supreme Court judgment in a civil writ petition challenging the appointment of Professor Shishir Kulkarni as the VC of Sardar Patel University, who was eventually removed from the post in March 2022.

The MSU administration, including Shrivastava, remained unavailable for comment.