The Supreme Court has given the green light for the appointment of permanent Vice-Chancellors in at least six universities in the state. These include the University of Calcutta, Vishva-Bharati University, Sidho Kanho Birsha University, Gour Banga University, Kazi Nazrul University, and Jadavpur University.
However, the Education Department of West Bengal claims that not six, but a total of eight university Vice-Chancellors' names have been approved on Monday. This also includes the University of North Bengal and Raiganj University.
But sources claim that, although no mention was made during the hearing, Attorney General R. Venkataramani, the legal representative of the Chancellor and Governor CV Ananda Bose, raised objections about these two universities after the hearing concluded. As the Supreme Court's directive had not been made public by nightfall, it was not possible to confirm this matter.
During Monday's hearing before the Supreme Court bench of Justice Surya Kant and Justice Joymalya Bagchi, the state government's lawye,r Jaydeep Gupta, and the Attorney General informed that they have reached an agreement regarding the appointment of Vice-Chancellors for these six universities in the state.
It has been decided that for the remaining universities where there are still complications or disagreements regarding the appointment of Vice-Chancellors, the two Supreme Court justices will now conduct 'in-chamber' discussions with the lawyers representing the state government and the Chancellor. This means that the legal community believes there is less likelihood of this case being heard in open court hereafter.
Clarifying their position on Monday, Justice Surya Kant addressed the lawyers from both sides, saying, “I hope you won't have any problem discussing the appointment of Vice-Chancellors for the remaining universities in the state over a cup of coffee in our chamber”.
The lawyers from both sides immediately accepted Justice Surya Kant's invitation and agreed. According to court sources, among the West Bengal universities where there are still disagreements between Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee and the Chancellor regarding the appointment of Vice-Chancellors are North Bengal University, Raiganj University, Sanskrit University, Maulana Abul Kalam Azad University, and Cooch Behar's Panchanan Barma University, among others.
Calcutta and Jadavpur University
Among the six universities, the most significant are Calcutta University and Jadavpur University. At Calcutta University, the Vice-Chancellor's seat was occupied by Governor-appointed VC Santa Datta, whose relationship with the ruling party and the university had been fraught with tension. This reached a crescendo on August 28th, surrounding a meeting on the foundation day of the Trinamool Students' Council. On that very day, she had scheduled university examinations. Now, that very VC who taught lessons on maintaining 'rajdharma' (duty of the ruler) will have to bid farewell as per the Supreme Court's directive. According to sources in the Education Department, Professor Ashutosh Ghosh of Calcutta University itself will take that seat. He has previously served as the interim VC of the university.
On the other hand, Jadavpur University has been working without a permanent VC for more than two years. Although two individuals were made interim Vice-Chancellors for some time, they were later removed by the Governor. Finally, Professor Chiranjeeb Bhattacharya, a faculty member and former Pro-Vice-Chancellor of the university, will occupy the Vice-Chancellor's seat. He is currently the President of the West Bengal Council of Higher Secondary Education.
According to court sources, Omprakash Mishra's name was submitted as the VC of North Bengal University. He was the interim VC of that university. However, during his tenure as interim Vice-Chancellor, Governor CV Ananda Bose had raised allegations of financial misconduct against him. The Governor has again objected to Omprakash Mishra on this day.
Additionally, complications have arisen regarding Raiganj University. As a result, the appointment of permanent Vice-Chancellors for a total of nine universities, including MAKAUT University, Barasat Rajya University, Sanskrit University, Diamond Harbour Women's University, Panchanan Barma University, B.Ed. University, Harichand Guruchand University, Raiganj University, and North Bengal University remain pending. The academic community is now looking forward to seeing if these knots will be untangled in the next hearing.
