WB Universities' VC Appointments | '17 Names Cleared By Governor', Attorney General Says; Supreme Court Gives 3 Weeks' Time For The Remaining

In the matter pertaining to appointment of Vice Chancellors for certain West Bengal Universities, the Supreme Court was informed today that the Chancellor (Governor) has cleared the names of 17 VCs.

A Bench of Justices Surya Kant, Dipankar Datta and Ujjal Bhuyan adjourned the matter by 3 weeks, in light of Attorney General R Venkataramani's request to grant some more time to the Chancellor (West Bengal Governor) to clear the names of VCs for remaining Universities.

Requesting for time, the AG told the court, "there is some good development in the matter...17 names have been cleared...17 more, there is some kind of disagreement...I will put it in a sealed envelope before your Lordships...but I thought if in the meanwhile, I can do some more mediation between the Chancellor and...a complex exchange of minds is involved...hope we can bring down the number (of names remaining to be cleared)."

Hearing the AG, Justice Kant said, "Our request is that please save our time...what will happen is...the moment there is a disagreement, then we will have to spend time. Better you use your good offices and get maximum names cleared...now that the figure has substantially reduced, left out are 17 only...so instead of 6 weeks, we will grant 3 weeks now...please convey our feelings to the ld. Chancellor...".

Senior Advocate Dr Abhishek Manu Singhvi (for the State of West Bengal), on the other hand, responded to the AG's request by saying that 17 may sound like some number, but it's 17 names out of a total of 34. "Your lordships' last order said 3 weeks, we are now 8 weeks down the line", he stated. The senior counsel also informed that nothing is pending on CM Mamata Banerjee's end.

Accepting the AG's request, the Court listed the matter after 3 weeks.

The Court was dealing with a special leave petition filed by the State of West Bengal challenging the June 2023 judgment of the Calcutta High Court upholding the interim vice-chancellor appointments made by Governor Bose in 13 universities, in his capacity as the chancellor of the institutions.

On July 8, the Court delivered a judgment, constituting Search-cum-Selection Committees for Universities under the chairmanship of former Chief Justice of India UU Lalit. The Committees, encompassing five members, were to prepare a panel of three names for each university for VC appointments, alphabetically and not in order of merits. Three months were given to complete the process.

Appearance: Senior Advocates Dr AM Singhvi and Jaideep Gupta (for the State of West Bengal); Attorney General R Venkataramani (for Governor CV Ananda Bose)

Case Title: State of West Bengal v. Dr. Sanat Kumar Ghosh & Ors. | Special Leave Petition (Civil) No. 17403 of 2023