Himachal Pradesh high court slaps Rs 7,000 fine on State for Non-Compliance in VC appointment case

Himachalscape bureau Published: October 18, 2024 | Updated: October 20, 2024 3 minutes read

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Shimla, Oct 18,

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The Himachal Pradesh High Court has imposed a fine of Rs 7,000 on the state government for failing to file a reply to a civil writ petition filed by Prof. Arvind Bindra of Ch. Sharwan Kumar Agriculture and Allied Sciences University, Palampur.

The petition, filed in May this year, challenges the appointment process of the Vice Chancellor (VC) at the university. A division bench, consisting of Chief Justice Rajiv Shakdher and Justice Jyotsana Rewel Dua, passed the order on October 15, penalizing the state for non-compliance with the court’s earlier directions.

Despite being instructed to file a reply, the state government failed to do so. The court has now extended the deadline by two weeks, on the condition that the cost be increased from Rs 5,000 to Rs 7,000, payable to the Himachal Pradesh State Legal Services Authority. The next hearing in the matter is scheduled for October 29, 2024.

The petitioner’s counsel, Senior Advocate Sanjeev Bhushan, noted that on September 24, 2024, the court had granted time to file the counter affidavit with a cost of Rs 5,000, but since the state did not comply, the court has now increased the cost to Rs 7,000.

Earlier, the division bench, then comprising Chief Justice MS Ramachandra Rao and Justice Jyotsana Rewel Dua, had issued an interim stay on the notification regarding the appointment of a Vice Chancellor at Ch. Sharwan Kumar Agriculture University. Also Read: Governor Shukla rebukes State Government amidst stalemate over University Vice Chancellor appointments The petitioner, Prof. Arvind Bindra, had challenged the qualifications outlined in a notification dated May 2, 2024, for filling the VC post, arguing that they did not align with the University Grants Commission (UGC) qualifications as prescribed under Clause 7.3 of the UGC notification dated July 18, 2018. The court, therefore, stayed all further proceedings related to the appointment process.

In the backdrop of this legal dispute, the Himachal Pradesh Vidhan Sabha recently passed legislation amending the provisions for the appointment of Vice Chancellors in state universities, including Ch. Sharwan Kumar Agriculture University, Palampur, and Dr. YS Parmar University, Nauni. However, the Governor of Himachal Pradesh, Shiv Pratap Shukla, has not yet given his assent to the legislation. The issue has sparked a political tussle between the Raj Bhavan and the state government.

The ongoing disagreement between the Governor and the state government has delayed the appointment of VCs in various universities. Governor Shukla previously returned similar legislation to the state government, and the current bill, passed during the monsoon session, has also been sent to the Governor for approval. The conflict between the Governor and the state’s Technical Education Minister, Rajesh Dharmani has been making headlines recently, further complicating the process of appointing VCs across state universities.

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