HC rejects plea to re-constitute MKU V-C Search Committee

The Madras High Court today dismissed a PIL filed by an NGO seeking quashing of a state government order and re-constitution of the search committee set up for the selection of a suitable person to the post of Vice-Chancellor of Madurai Kamaraj University.
The First Bench, comprising Chief Justice Sanjay Kishan Kaul and Justice M Sundar, gave the direction on a PIL by the NGO, Change India.
The matter relates to a PIL seeking quashing of the order issued by the State Higher Education Secretary on December 20, relating to the nomination of the Search Committee set up for the purpose of appointing a person for the post of Vice-Chancellor for MKU and re-constitute the committee after removing C Murukadas from the post of convener.

When the matter came up, the bench declined to interfere in the selection process of the committee and dismissed the petition.
The petitioner sought a direction to the MKU Registrar, State Higher Education secretary and the Governor's secretary to re-constitute the panel afresh by removing Murukadas from the position of convener and nominating another distinguished educationalist to the position in accordance with the MKU Act.
The petitioner submitted that Mu Ramaswamy, who was elected by the MKU Senate to the search committee, had raised questions on "irregularities" in the functioning of Murukadas and had resigned as there was no response from the University to his letter.

The petitioner further contended that the trio ought to have cleared the air by responding and taking action against Murukadass based on Ramaswamy's allegations.

The continued functioning of Murukadass as the convener of the panel raises a genuine apprehension that the selection of the VC to the MKU "will not be above board," he said.
Recording the submissions of the petitioner's counsel, the bench said "In the midst of the selection process, we are not inclined to interfere merely because one of the members of the search committee resigned."
"The tenor of the letter sent by the person who has resigned as a member of the search committee seems to suggest his working equation problems with the chairperson rather than anything substantive," it said and dismissed the petition.