New Delhi: Ruling that the Vice-Chancellor of the Jawaharlal Nehru University does not have the power to appoint chairpersons of centres or special centres, the Delhi High Court has now curtailed decision-making powers of nine chairpersons appointed by erstwhile V-C M Jagadesh Kumar. The court has restricted the nine chairpersons from taking any major decisions, including those related to convening selection committees or carrying out selections at the centres, special centres.
The Delhi High Court's division bench of Justices Rajiv Shakdher and Talwant Singh noted that the power to appoint chiefs of centres and special centres has been vested with the executive council of the varsity and not on
the V-C.
"Therefore, prima facie, respondent no.2 could not have exercised the power to appoint Chairpersons of Centres/Special Centres," the court ruled, adding that these appointments made by the V-C are prima facie without authority.
The ruling came while the court was hearing a petition by Professor Atul Sood regarding the appointments of professors as chairpersons of centres and special centres by the V-C. Professor Sood has challenged the executive council's nod to these nine appointments — arguing that they cannot come from the V-C's office.
While the university argued before the court that the V-C had exercised powers under Statute 4(5) of the varsity's Statutes, the court said that such powers can be exercised only when urgent action is required on account of an "emergent situation". The court added that these actions are then reported to the concerned authority for their approval.
In addition to this, the court noted that the varsity was made aware of the irregularities in these appointments by way of the objection submitted by Professor Sood in the 296th meeting of the executive council. "Despite this, respondent no.2 (VC), it appears, went on to appoint the Chairpersons of the concerned Centres/Special Centres," the court added.
The court also heard from Sood's counsel that V-C Kumar had purportedly gone on to appoint chairpersons for the Centre for Spanish, Portuguese, Italian and Latin American Studies/School of Language, Literature and Cultural Studies on October 8 on the backs on a single-judge HC order that refused to stay the appointment of the nine chairpersons mentioned above.
The division bench has requested the single judge bench — before whom the matter is pending — to prepone the hearing of Sood's case, listing it for directions before that court on November 10.
The single-judge bench had posted the matter for February next year while declining to stay the nine appointments, following which Sood had appealed the decision.
In addition to the Statutes not providing for the V-C to appoint chairpersons, appointments of various chairs have come under the scanner during V-C Kumar's tenure — many of which have been challenged in courts by fellow professors. In several instances, the chairs were appointed from outside the centres of which they were supposed to take charge.
Senior professors at the varsity have also said that many appointments were made with complete disregard for the rule that professors of that centre are to elect a chair from among themselves. Moreover, the JNU Teachers' Association has time and again raised the issue of "irregularities" in appointments since V-C Kumar's tenure
began.