SC upholds Madras HC verdict setting aside appointment of Puducherry Technological University VC

The bench examined the material placed on record and said, We are of the considered view that the findings recorded and the conclusions arrived at by the high court in the impugned judgment do not suffer from any legal infirmity, perversity or jurisdictional error warranting interference by this Court. The Madras High Court had previously struck down Section 145 of the PTU Act, which governed the formation of the search-cum-selection committee.

The Supreme Court on Friday upheld the Madras High Court judgment setting aside the appointment of S Mohan as Vice Chancellor of the Puducherry Technological University. Invoking Article 142 of the Constitution, which allows the Supreme Court to pass orders to do ''complete justice'', the bench, however, directed that Mohan continue as VC until the end of his normal tenure in December 2026 or until a new VC is selected via a legal process, whichever is earlier. The case centred on a clash between the Puducherry Technological University (PTU) Act, 2019, and the UGC Regulations, 2018. The bench examined the material placed on record and said, ''We are of the considered view that the findings recorded and the conclusions arrived at by the high court in the impugned judgment do not suffer from any legal infirmity, perversity or jurisdictional error warranting interference by this Court.'' The Madras High Court had previously struck down Section 14(5) of the PTU Act, which governed the formation of the search-cum-selection committee. A bench comprising Justices Vikram Nath and Sandeep Mehta affirmed the high court's view. The Bench clarified that while ''Education'' falls under the Concurrent List (where both State and Centre can legislate), ''coordination and determination of standards'' in higher education is the exclusive domain of Parliament under Entry 66 of List I (Union List). ''The UGC Regulations... occupy the field and, therefore, possess overriding effect,'' the Court held, noting that any deviation from these standards ''strikes at the root of the scheme''. Despite declaring the selection process illegal, the top court protected Mohan from immediate removal. The bench noted several ''peculiar facts'' and said there were no allegations against Mohan's qualifications, integrity or administrative performance. It said the current VC has served for four years without complaint. The court felt that an immediate ouster for a procedural error by the government would be ''unduly harsh and stigmatic'' to his academic career. It has granted Mohan the right to participate in any fresh selection process initiated by the university, stipulating that he should not be prejudiced by the current judgment. Further, it gave the Puducherry legislature the liberty to amend the PTU Act to bring it into strict conformity with UGC Regulations to avoid such legal ''vacuums'' in the future.

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