In a setback to the ruling Left Democratic Front government in Kerala, the Supreme Court on Friday held as “illegal” and “void ab initio” the appointment of Rajasree M S as the Vice Chancellor of APJ Abdul Kalam Technological University, Thiruvananthapuram. A bench of Justices M R Shah and C T Ravikumar held that the search committee, which recommended her name, was “not duly constituted” and that the appointment flouted University Grants Commission (UGC) norms. The court was hearing an appeal by Sreejith P S, former Dean of the Engineering Faculty of Cochin University of Science and Technology. He had initially moved the Kerala High Court where a Single Bench and Division Bench rejected his plea. While Sreejith claimed that the appointment did not follow UGC Regulations, 2010, the HC said the UGC Regulations shall not be applicable as the subsequent amendment made to the Regulations in June 2013 have not been specifically adopted by the state government. Quashing the HC order, the SC referring to its earlier decisions said the UGC Regulations were adopted by the state government in October 2010 and that “while adopting/accepting the UGC Regulations, it is specifically observed. that all the universities shall incorporate the UGC Regulations in their Statutes and Regulations within one month from the date of the said order and government will initiate steps to amend the Acts of the Universities, if required to implement the Regulations… merely because the subsequent amendment has not been specifically adopted/accepted by the State cannot be a ground by the State to contend that the amendment to the Regulations shall not be binding on the State/State’s Universities…the appointment of the Vice Chancellor shall be always as per the relevant provisions of the UGC Regulations amended from time to time”. The judgment noted that “as per Section 13(4) of the University Act, 2015, the (Search) Committee shall recommend unanimously a panel of not less than three suitable persons from amongst the eminent persons in the field of engineering sciences, which shall be placed before the Visitor In the present case, admittedly the only name of respondent No. 1 was recommended to the Chancellor. As per the UGC Regulations also, the Visitor/Chancellor shall appoint the Vice Chancellor out of the panel of names recommended by the Search Committee”. Pointing out that in the instant case the committee only recommended Rajasree’s name, the bench said “therefore, when only one name was recommended, the Chancellor had no option to consider the names of the other candidates. Therefore, the appointment. can be said to be dehors and/or contrary to the provisions of the UGC Regulations as well as even to the University Act, 2015”.
