HC orders notice to TN Higher Education Secretary on PIL

The Madras High Court Bench here today ordered issue of notice to the Higher Education Secretary, among others, on a PIL seeking a direction to quash two items in the minutes of the Syndicate of the Madurai Kamaraj University pertaining to appointment teaching and non-teaching staff.
The petitioner P.Vijayakumar, a retired lecturer, alleged irregularities in the selection process of Assistant Professors and Associate Professors as well as non-teaching staff by the University.
The petitioner alleged items 33 and 34, which related to appointment of teaching and non-teaching staff, was incorporated in the approved minutes after the meeting was over. The Syndicate members themselves were shocked about the same, he claimed.

Besides, the notification pertaining to recruitment of both teaching and non-teaching staff was pending adjudication before the court.
The two items pertaining to appoiments were highly arbitrary, illegal and against the rules of the MKU, the petitioner claimed. A Registrar, whose appointment itself had not been approved by the Syndicate, could not send the agenda for the Syndicate meeting, the petitioner said.
The petitioner claimed items pertaining to appointment of teacher, non-teaching staff and Registrar was not found in the original agenda. Besides seven out of ten Syndicate members had duly registered their objections and therefore the items were unlawfully inserted without the approval of Syndicate members, the petitioner alleged and prayed for a direction to withdraw the appointment of 26 Assistant Professors and nine Associate Professors.

A Division Bench of Justice S Manikumar and Justice V S Ravi ordered notice to the Secretary, Higher Education, among others.