Consider plea to appoint permanent V-C for GRI: Madras HC
MADURAI: The Madurai Bench of the Madras High Court recently directed the union government to consider a man's representation to expedite the appointment of a permanent vice chancellor for Gandhigram Rural Institute (Deemed-To-Be University) in Dindigul within three months. Justice L Victoria Gowri passed the order on a petition filed by the varsity's retired section officer M Gurunathan.
"It is needless to point out that whenever a representation of this nature is made to a statutory authority, there is a duty cast upon the respondents (union government, university grants commission and cabinet secretariat) to consider the same on its own merits and pass appropriate orders in one way or other, instead of keeping the same pending indefinitely. As such, non-consideration of the representation by the statutory authority would amount to dereliction of duty," the judge observed and issued the above direction.
Gurunathan, in his petition, said there has not been a permanent V-C in the varsity since 2019. Though one person was appointed in April 2021, he resigned four months later. The union ministry of higher education took efforts to appoint a permanent V-C and a search-cum-selection committee was constituted with three members nominated by the ministry, chancellor and the board of management of the institute. The committee also conducted an interview in February 2022 and a panel of three meritorious candidates was recommended to the ministry, Gurunathan stated. However, the ministry failed to make a decision, he said, adding that the absence of a permanent V-C has seriously affected the standard of the institution.
Listing out the adverse impacts of the lack of a permanent V-C, he also said no new projects could be taken up and 60% of the teaching and non-teaching positions are vacant. Though I sent a representation to the authorities in this regard in August this year, they are not paying any attention to the issue, he added.