MADURAI: The Madurai Bench of the Madras High Court has directed the Gandhigram Rural Institute (GRI) in Dindigul to implement new University Grants Commission (UGC) regulations 2023 within two months. Till then, regular administrative activities can be carried out, the court said.
Justice C Saravanan passed the order recently while hearing a petition filed by M Gurunathan of Dindigul, a retired section assistant of the deemed to be university. Gurunathan alleged that the institution is following the defunct old regulations and is planning to conduct a board of management (BoM) meeting on July 18, even though the constitutional structure changed after the UGC announced new regulations.
The UGC issued new regulations on June 2, 2023, declaring institutions of academic excellence as institutions deemed to be universities. As per the new regulations, deemed-to-be-universities should amend the Memorandum of Association (MoA) or Rules of the Institution to comply with it within one year from the date of commencement of the regulations and a report should be submitted to the commission, he added.
Though the university passed a resolution to expedite the process during a BoM meeting in 2023, the varsity failed to register or implement them, Gurunathan said.
Justice Saravanan directed the vice chancellor and registrar-in-charge of GRI to register the by-laws within a month. Also, he directed them to implement the new regulations within two months, and disposed of the petition.