Tamil Nadu: The extension of the tenure of the selection committees constituted by the government for the appointment of Vice-Chancellors of three universities in Tamil Nadu is against court orders; Governor R.N. Ravi has asked the Tamil Nadu government to immediately stop this action.
The Governor’s office issued a press release in this regard on Tuesday: The Governor’s office wishes to place on record its legal position regarding the extension of tenure granted to the search committees recommending names for the appointment of Vice-Chancellors in certain Tamil Nadu government universities, such as Bharathiar University, Bharathidasan University, and Periyar University.
According to the statutory provisions for the appointment of Vice-Chancellors of Tamil Nadu universities, a person is selected from a list of three names suggested by the search committees duly constituted by the Chancellor (Governor) and appointed as Vice-Chancellor. In this situation, the Tamil Nadu
government, which had made certain amendments to the university laws, brought in an amendment stating that the government has the power to appoint Vice-Chancellors. A case was filed against this in the High Court, and the Madras High Court has stayed the amendment to the law that would transfer the power to appoint Vice-Chancellors from the Chancellor (Governor) to the government.
In this situation, the Tamil Nadu government has issued orders extending the tenure of the search committees recommending names for appointment to the post of Vice-Chancellor by Tamil Nadu universities until 21.03.2026. Furthermore, the illegally constituted search committees for Periyar and Bharathidasan Universities have also held discussions with the shortlisted candidates for the Vice-Chancellor selection on 24.01.2026 and 27.01.2026.
The state government’s move to extend the tenure of the search committees while the cases are pending is a violation of the court orders. Accordingly, the Governor of Tamil Nadu, who is also the Chancellor, has requested the Tamil Nadu government to immediately issue an order to include the UGC Chairman’s nominee in the search committee as recommended by the Governor-Chancellor, or to immediately suspend the functioning of the search committees currently constituted by the government and all steps related to the selection and appointment of Vice-Chancellors, it was stated.
