Bengaluru: The High Court in Bengaluru rejected a Public Interest Litigation challenging the selection of S Vidyashankar as the Vice-Chancellor of Visvesvaraya Technological University. The verdict was delivered by a bench consisting of Chief Justice Prasanna B Varale and Justice Krishna S Dixit, who had previously reserved their judgment. It’s important to note that the High Court’s decision does not indicate any stance on the legality or the entire process of Vidyashankar’s appointment.
The court made it clear that its judgment pertains solely to the specific petition in question and does not impact any other related cases. Prof. B. Shivaraj Vidyashankar, a former Acting Vice-Chancellor of Mysore University who is now retired, had applied for the position.
The petitioner argued that the state government’s formation of a search committee for appointing the VTU Chancellor was in violation of UGC Rules and Section 13 of the VTU Act. The petitioner’s contention was that the search committee did not include a UGC-qualified representative. The petitioner insisted that the VTU Chancellor should select a candidate meeting the criteria established by the Central Human Resource Development Department and the UGC.
