CHENNAI: The inclusion of Dr C Thangamuthu as one of the members of the panel for selecting the Vice-Chancellor to the Madurai-Kamaraj University, has been set aside by a division bench of the Madras High Court.
The bench of Justices S Manikumar and Subramonium Prasad quashed the order, dated June 16 last, nominating Thangamuthu as a member of the selection panel, while allowing a PIL petition from Mahalingam, an alumni of the university, challenging the nomination, on Tuesday.
The bench noted that in the case on hand, the inclusion of the Senate nominee in the search committee was stated to have been done as per procedures laid down in the MK University Act but the procedure in respect of the Syndicate nominee has not been followed by issuing a notification and granting 14 days’ time.
There are no materials to indicate that there was a pressure or influence on the Syndicate members, but as rightly contended by the petitioner, the meeting has been convened just two days after the pronouncement of the order on June 14 by the first bench, which had granted three months time to constitute the search panel by following the procedures.
Undisputedly, the said procedure has not been followed in the matter of selecting the Syndicate nominee. When the convener committee had followed the procedure contemplated to select the Senate nominee by issuing a notification, there is no reason why the same procedure had not been followed in nomination of the Syndicate nominee. When the convener committee has directed a meeting on June 16 last to select syndicate nominee, there is nothing to indicate why the procedure contemplated for selection of the nominee cannot be followed, the bench said and set aside the order nominating Thangamuthu as a member.
It has directed the Syndicate to follow procedures as per the order of first bench dated June 14.
Earlier, petitioner pointed out that despite the June 14 order of the first bench, which set-aside the appointment of Professor P P Chelladurai as the VC of the MK University and directed the authorities concerned to strictly follow the rules and statues to ensure selection of suitable and eligible persons as members of the panel, a faulty and hasty exercise has been done. The government officials, have exhibited total disregard to the statute and highhandedness in appointing Thangamuthu as the syndicate nominee for the VC search panel.