Deadlock over V-C appointments continues despite Supreme Court nod

Kolkata: Despite a clear directive from the Supreme Court, the appointment of permanent vice-chancellors (V-Cs) at six state-aided universities remains stalled, as the state Higher Education Department is yet to secure the necessary approval from Raj Bhavan.

On October 6, a Bench of Justices Surya Kant and Joymalya Bagchi, after hearing submissions from both the state government and Governor CV Ananda Bose — who is also the Chancellor of all state-aided universities — observed that there was “no impediment” to proceeding with the appointments for six universities. The ruling followed a detailed hearing on the long-standing dispute between the Bengal government and the Governor over the process of V-C appointments.

The six universities cleared for permanent V-C appointments are Calcutta University, Jadavpur University, the University of Gour Banga, Kazi Nazrul University, Sadhu Ramchand Murmu University, and Biswa Bangla Biswavidyalaya.

Following the Supreme Court’s order, officials in the Higher Education Department had expected Raj Bhavan to issue the formal notifications shortly.

However, no such approval has been received so far. In light of this, the department wrote to the Raj Bhavan on Tuesday, seeking the requisite clearances to implement the court’s directive, officials said. While the apex court’s order cleared the way for appointments at these six universities, the matters relating to the remaining institutions were scheduled to be taken up in chambers on October 15 at 2 pm. However, the hearing was deferred on Wednesday, with the new order stating: “Post the matter on November 10, 2025, in Chamber.”