CHENNAI: The Madras High Court on Tuesday ordered notice to Anna University-Coimbatore’s vice chancellor R Radhakrishnan and three others for alleged flouting of rules to start constituent colleges.
While passing an order on a writ petition filed by the Association of Management of Coimbatore Anna University Affiliated Colleges, Justice K. Suguna maintained that the notice was returnable by April 8.
In an affidavit, J Sudhanandhen, president of the association, contended that Radhakrishnan with ulterior motive introduced a new scheme of establishing engineering colleges under the name and style “public private partnership”, to serve his self-interest.
Under the scheme, anybody having 25 acres of land and capacity to invest Rs 10 crore to Rs 25 crore from Coimbatore, Dharmapuri, Erode, Karur, Krishnagiri, Namakkal, Salem and Nilgiris, can apply to the Anna University-Coimbatore for starting engineering colleges, he contended.
The engineering colleges to be established under the scheme will be outside the purview of the All India Council for Technical Education (AICTE), and the proposal is opposed to the very principles laid down by the Madras High Court and the Supreme Court relating to establishment of colleges for teaching technical subjects, the petitioner contended.
Though several qualified institutions submitted applications for starting constituent engineering colleges under the scheme, Radhakrishnan selected only two applicants, namely, Prahar Foundation, Coimbatore, and International School of Business and Research, Bangalore, to set up new colleges.
According to the affidavit, S Amirtha Sanjeevi, the founder and managing trustee of Prahar Foundation, though described as daughter of M P Sadhsivam in the application, is none other than the wife of vice chancellor Radhakrishnan and another trustee S Kamalam is none other than his mother- in-law.
The two trustees are housewives and they do not have a capacity to acquire 25 acres of land and spend Rs 25 crore for infrastructural facilties, and importantly, Radhakrishnan, prior to his appointment of vice chancellor, was working only as the private secretary to the vice-chancellor of Anna University, Chennai, and he also did not have lawful means to invest such huge amount, petitioner contended.