Bengal moves Supreme Court against judicature order setting aside reappointment of Calcutta University VC

The Supreme Court on Wednesday agreed to listen to a plea of the province government against the Calcutta judicature order setting aside the re-appointment of the vice-chancellor of Calcutta University.

A bench of Justices DY Chandrachud and Hima Kohli was told by senior advocate AM Singhvi that the court on Tuesday passed the order and put aside the choice of the statutory authority.

The order was passed after the decision was reserved for several months.

The bench said that the matter are listed on September 16 before an appropriate bench.

On September 13, the Calcutta supreme court put aside the reappointment of Sonali Chakravarti Banerjee as vice-chancellor of Calcutta University, holding that the province government has no authority to try to to so as per provisions of the varsity's Act.

Passing the decision on a PIL by an alumnus of the university challenging the reappointment of Banerjee, the court had held that the govt order dated August 27, 2021, issued by a special secretary can not be sustained.

It had ordered that the state had no authority to appoint or reappoint the vice-chancellor either under Section 8 of the Calcutta University Act or by taking recourse to the residuary Section 60 of the Act.

Oral prayers for a stay of operation of the order by lawyers representing the regime and Banerjee were rejected.

Banerjee was appointed as vice-chancellor of Calcutta University on August 28, 2017, for four years and her term expired on August 27, 2021.

Her tenure was extended by three months by the Chancellor with a rider that the choice process would commence and also the vice-chancellor would be appointed by following the due process of law.

Thereafter, a notification dated August 27, 2021, was issued under the signature of the special secretary of the province government's education Department, whereby Banerjee was reappointed as vice-chancellor of Calcutta University with effect from August 28, 2021, for four years.

Counsel for the petitioner before the court had claimed that the authorities has no power to reappoint the vice-chancellor because the power to appoint/reappoint lies with the Chancellor.

Opposing the prayer, State's Advocate General S N Mookherjee had submitted that appointment and reappointment stand on a special footing.

He had submitted that the reappointing authority is that the state, and whether or not the Chancellor is that the reappointing authority, he has no discretion if the advice is distributed by the state after satisfaction.

He had stated that since the Chancellor wasn't taking any action on the advice sent to him, therefore, the state had no option but to pass the order reappointing Banerjee.

Jagdeep Dhankhar, now vice chairman of India was the then ex-officio Chancellor of the university being a governor of the State.