HC stays HP Governor’s VC Recruitment notices
Photo used for indicative purpose only. Source internet
Shimla, Aug 14,
Adding a fresh twist to the ongoing tussle between the Himachal Pradesh Raj Bhavan and the Congress-led Sukhu government over Vice-Chancellor appointments, the Himachal Pradesh High Court today stayed the recruitment process initiated by Governor-cum-Chancellor Shiv Pratap Shukla for Dr. Y.S. Parmar University of Horticulture and Forestry, Nauni, and CSK Himachal Pradesh Agricultural University, Palampur.
The single bench of Justice Sandeep Sharma passed the interim order while hearing two writ petitions filed by Ajaydeep Bindra and another petitioner — both senior faculty members in the respective universities — challenging the July 21 recruitment notices issued under the signature of the Secretary to the Governor.
The petitioners argued that the advertisements failed to include the category of teachers holding posts equivalent to Professor, such as Principal Scientist or Principal Horticulturist, thereby excluding eligible candidates. They cited recruitment norms followed by Punjab Agricultural University, Ludhiana, and Pt. Govind Ballabh Pant University, Uttarakhand, where the word “equivalent” was deliberately used to widen eligibility.
Advocate General Anup Rattan, representing the state, supported the petitioners’ contention and told the court that the Secretary to the Governor was not competent to issue the notices — a role reserved for the administrative heads of Agriculture and Horticulture Departments. He said the government had already flagged the issue to the Governor but received no response.
The court observed that the omission of “equivalent” in eligibility criteria could cause “great prejudice” to similarly placed candidates and stayed the operation of the July 21 notices until further orders.
This judicial intervention comes amid a high-voltage constitutional clash. The Sukhu government had earlier withdrawn the Governor’s notifications, terming them beyond his legal competence based on the Advocate General’s opinion, while the Governor restored the process, extended the application deadline, and asserted his sole authority under the 1986 Act.
With the High Court now putting the brakes on the process, the confrontation between the Raj Bhavan and the state government over control of higher education appointments has entered an even sharper phase, echoing similar power struggles in Kerala and Tamil Nadu.
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