Patna HC quashes appointment of 6 VCs

In a major setback to Bihar Governor Debanand Kunwar, the Patna High Court today quashed the appointments of six Vice Chancellor (VC) and four Pro- Vice Chancellor made by him.

A division bench comprising Chief Justice Rekha M Doshit and Justice A Amanullah also directed the Governor to make fresh appointments in consultations with the state government against these posts within a month. The court has passed this order on the ground that the Governor, in his capacity as the Chancellor of the Universities in Bihar, did not consult with the state government prior to the appointments, which is required under section 10(2) of the Bihar State Universities Act, 1976 and Patna University Act, 1976.

 

The VCs, whose appointments have been struck down, are Patna University VC Shambhu Nath Singh, BR Ambedkar University, Muzaffarpur VC Dr. Bimal Kumar, KMS Sanskrit University, Darbhanga VC Arvind Kumar Pandey, Jai Prakash University, Chapra VC Ramvinod Singh, BN Mandal University, Madhepura VC Arun Kumar and Mazhrul Haque Arabic and Persian University VC Md. Samsuzoha. Dr. Bimal Kumar and Arun Kumar also hold the additional charges of TM Bhagalpur University, Bhagalpur and Magadh University, Gaya, respectively.

The state government has given a composed reaction on this verdict. The Bihar CM, Nitish Kumar said, "Our position has been accepted by the honorable court. This is a judicial verdict and I have nothing more to say." He added, "A standoff between the state government and the Chancellor is not going to solve anything. Everybody wants development of our universities. The state government is always ready to help in this matter. Today a lot is being done for the betterment of every sector in the state. We want that our universities must also be benefitted. The state government wants to expand its role in universities."

The Governor last year appointed these VCs and Pro-VCs despite the state government crying foul. Later, the Accountant General (AG) of the state also raised serious questions about these appointments. The AG, in his report submitted in July this year, had said that these appointments were irregular as there were no consultations between the Raj Bhawan and State Government.

 

 

 

 

The audit report also mentioned that the VC of Patna University, Shambhu Nath Singh, does not fulfill the eligibility criteria for appointment and able to obtain this appointment through the collusion of senior officials at Raj Bhawan. It further stated that Dr. Vimal Kumar of BR Ambedkar University, Muzaffarpur and Dr. Arbind Kumar of KMS Sanskrit University, Darbhanga were facing criminal enquiries. This goes against the University Grants Commission's requirement that the person of highest level of competence, integrity, morals and institutional commitments are to be appointed as Vice Chancellor.