West Bengal Governor Agrees Before Supreme Court To Appoint 6 University VCs Recommended By State Government

The West Bengal Governor has agreed to fill up six vacancies of Vice Chancellors by appointing candidates out of the list recommended by the West Bengal Government.  Attorney General for India R Venkataramani informed the Supreme Court about the decision of the Governor (Chancellor of the Universities) on Tuesday (April 16).

Taking note of the AG's statement, the bench comprising Justices Surya Kant and KV Viswanathan directed that "needful be done within a week." The bench also said that the State Government can send recommendations for the remaining vacancies.

The apex court's stance comes as a response to the ongoing dispute between the West Bengal government and Governor CV Anand Bose(Chancellor of Universities) regarding the appointment of interim vice-chancellors.

The bench was hearing 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.

Earlier, the Court had urged the Attorney General to use his "good offices" to resolve the deadlock between the Governor and the Government. The Court had also expressed its reservations regarding the continuation of interim Vice Chancellors.

In October 2023, the Court had stayed the disbursement of financial perks to the interim VCs appointed by the Governor while the matter was pending before the Supreme Court. The Court also restrained the appointment of ad-hoc or acting Vice Chancellors.

Efforts to break the deadlock led the court to constitute a search-cum-selection committee for appointing vice-chancellors. However, the court faced challenges in forming the committee as neither the governor nor the University Grants Commission (UGC) responded with nominees, as alleged by the state government. The court sought five names each from the UGC, the West Bengal Government, and the Governor to determine the committee's composition. During a subsequent hearing, the court also called upon intervenors to propose names of renowned scientists, technocrats, administrators, educationists, and other eminent individuals.

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