The Division Bench of the Kerala High Court, comprising Chief Justice Prakash Shrivastava and Justice Rajarshi Bharadwaj in the case of Anindya Sundar Das v. The State of West Bengal and others has issued notice to the State Government for re-appointing the Vice Chancellor of Calcutta University without the consultation of the Governor who is the ex officio Chancellor of the University.
Submission of the Petitioner
The counsel on the behalf of the Petitioner has submitted that that under Section 8(1)(b) of the Calcutta University Act, 1979 as amended from time to time, the power vests with the Chancellor to appoint the Vice Chancellor which includes the power to re-appoint the Vice Chancellor. Therefore, bypassing the statutory provision, State or its Secretary could not have issued the notification for reappointment of the respondent No.4 as Vice Chancellor for 4 years.
Reasoning and Decision of the Court
The Court considered the Petitioner’s submission and expounded that “Learned Advocate General appearing for the State as also respondent Nos.2, 3 and 4 are granted four weeks time to file their affidavits-in-opposition.”
The Court further held that affidavit-in-reply may be filed by the petitioner within one week.
The Court posted the matter on 22.03.2022 for next hearing.
Case Details
Case: - WPA (P) 55 of 2022
Petitioner: - Anindya Sundar Das
Respondent: - The State of West Bengal and others
Judge: Chief Justice Prakash Shrivastava and Justice Rajarshi Bharadwaj
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