Blow to Tamil Nadu government as Madras HC orders interim stay on 10 Acts
‘TN will move SC against interim stay’
The counsel further stated that education should not fall in the hands of people with political interest, instead, it should be in the hands of apolitical persons. Advocate General P S Raman, representing the state government, and senior counsel P Wilson, appearing for the higher education department, questioned the urgency to take up such matters, which involve constitutionality of the amendment acts that are plenary legislations adopted by the state legislature.
They noted that the amendments acts have come into effect through the judicial order of the SC where the same grounds of repugnancy were raised but were brushed aside by the court. They submitted that the amended acts provide for taking the powers to appoint V-Cs away from the governor-chancellor and not removing the post of chancellor. Further, they noted the petitions have not challenged the constitution of the search committees.
Stating that only two universities have called for applications from eligible candidates, with the last date for applications set on June 3, the A-G sought ample time for filing a counter-affidavit before passing any interim orders. Senior counsel Wilson informed the bench that a memo was filed before the SC seeking transfer of the petitions to the court where a similar case is pending on the applicability of regulations concerned of the UGC.
He added that the matter was mentioned before the CJI who instructed him to inform the HC’s division bench on this. He also pointed out that a gazette notification reproduced in the petitions was not real but a forged one. Speaking to reporters, Wilson said that the TN government will challenge the interim stay in the apex court.
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