Tamil Nadu governor to take decision on Surappa issue: AG

🔴 Advocate-General R Shanmugasundaram told Justice V Parthiban that the Governor, who is also the Chancellor of all the universities in the state, alone is the competent authority to deal with the issue.

Meanwhile, the Commission had submitted its findings in a report to the State government. (File)

The Tamil Nadu government informed the Madras High Court on Thursday that the state Governor alone would have to take a decision on the issue relating to former Vice-Chancellor of Anna University, M K Surappa who is facing charges of corruption and other malpractices.

Advocate-General R Shanmugasundaram told Justice V Parthiban that the Governor, who is also the Chancellor of all the universities in the state, alone is the competent authority to deal with the issue.

He told this when the writ petition from Surappa came up before the judge for further hearing. The judge, after recording the submission, adjourned the matter till January 3.

A Commission of Inquiry, headed by Justice P Kalaiarasan, a retired judge of the High Court, had been constituted in November last year by the then AIADMK government to probe into the allegations of bribery, corruption, malpractices, financial irregularities and irregular appointments against Surappa.

Aggrieved, he had filed the present petition denying all the charges alleged against him. He claimed he had undertaken major development works in the interest of the premier technical varsity, ever since he had assumed office in April 2018.

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His opposition to the state government’s decision to pass all engineering students without conducting arrear examinations due to Covid-19 and the efforts taken by him to obtain an Institute of Eminence (IoE) status for the university, had triggered the confrontation.

He also stated he had refused to part with university funds for purchasing decorative items at the offices of the then Higher Education Minister and the Secretary. All this had ended in him drawing the ire of the previous government, he had added.