The Supreme Court recently cleared the way for the appointment of Vice-Chancellors (V-Cs) in eight state universities across West Bengal. This significant development occurred after both Governor C.V. Ananda Bose and the State government accepted the recommendations made by an independent search-cum-selection committee, notably led by former Chief Justice of India U.U. Lalit.
A Bench comprising Justices Surya Kant and Joymalya Bagchi confirmed that there were no obstacles to finalizing these appointments for institutions such as the University of Calcutta, Biswa Bangla University, Sadhu Ram Chand Murmu University of Jhargram, the University of Gour Banga, Kazi Nazrul University, Jadavpur University, Raiganj University, and the University of North Bengal. The Court also specified that any outstanding appointments where the State government and the Governor remain in disagreement would be addressed separately in private chamber proceedings.
The Court’s intervention came in response to a petition filed by the State government, which challenged Governor Bose’s perceived delay in approving appointments for a total of 36 state-run universities, acting in his capacity as ex officio Chancellor. Following the Justice Lalit Committee’s involvement, 19 appointments were successfully cleared. However, a deadlock persisted over 17 other appointments where the Governor had not approved the Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee’s initial preferred candidates.
During the proceedings, senior advocate Jaideep Gupta, representing the State government, acknowledged some reservations regarding a few names recommended by the committee. However, Justice Kant expressed his strong disapproval, emphasizing that if even the Chancellor had accepted the committee’s recommendations, the State should also agree.
Mr. Gupta conveyed the State’s intention not to prolong the dispute, stating, “We are not here to contest such issues extensively. Where there are one or two reservations, Your Lordships may resolve them.”
Justice Kant then indicated that the Bench would avoid public discussion of individual candidates, deeming such deliberations more appropriate for chamber proceedings. He concluded, “For now, let the appointments on which there is agreement be made.”
In its August 1 order, the Supreme Court had already clarified that the Justice Lalit Committee members were not obligated to follow the Chief Minister’s order of preference when selecting V-Cs for 15 universities. Instead, they were instructed to conduct an independent assessment of each candidate’s suitability, carefully considering both the Chancellor’s observations and the Chief Minister’s stated reasons for her recommendations.
The committee, composed of experts from various fields, delivered unanimous recommendations for 12 of the 15 universities. In the remaining three cases, committee members had differing opinions on the ranking of the top three candidates. The Court had previously instructed both parties to obtain formal instructions on these recommendations before proceeding further.
This ongoing disagreement over Vice-Chancellor appointments represents the latest point of contention between the Governor and the Trinamool Congress government. Last year, the State had previously approached the Supreme Court regarding the Governor’s inaction on eight Bills awaiting his assent, some of which had been pending since 2022.