CHENNAI: The first bench of the Madras High Court comprising Chief Justice Indira Banerjee and Justice M Sundar on Wednesday reserved orders on a PIL seeking to declare as null and void the inclusion of Prof Anantha Padmanabhan, former director of IIT-Kanpur, as a member of the search committee for the Vice-Chancellor of Anna University.
The PIL was filed by P Uchimakali, State secretary of SFI. He submitted that Padmanabhan was disqualified from being nominated as a member of the search committee, as he had connection with the Anna University. The rule said that the person so nominated shall not be a member of any of the authority of the university or shall not be connected with the university or any college or any recognised institution of the university. Padmanbhan, on retirement as Director from Kanpur IIT, was brought by D Viswanathan, the then V-C of Anna University, as a professor of eminence to the university, the petitioner pointed out.