Haren
The Supreme Court on Friday indicated that it would step intervene if Tamil Nadu DMK government and Governor R N Ravi fail to resolve their disagreement over the appointment of vice-chancellors for state universities before the next hearing.
The bench headed by Justice SB Pardiwala made the observation amidst a long-standing dispute between the two sides over the Governor’s refusal to approve several bills. These include measures aimed at curbing the Governor’s authority in appointing vice-chancellors and replacing the Governor as the chancellor of universities.
Out of the 10 bills under consideration, the Governor has approved only one. Assent has been withheld for seven bills required to turn them into laws, while no action has been taken on the remaining two.
The bench was considering an application from Tamil Nadu government that sought to update the record with recent developments in its ongoing challenge to the Governor’s notifications, as per a report on The Indian Express. These notifications, issued on September 6, 2023, had established search committees to identify candidates for vice-chancellor roles at Bharathiar University, Tamil Nadu Teachers Education University, and the University of Madras.
