Professor Chakraborty Banerjee, who was appointed the university’s vice-chancellor in August 2017, ended in August 2021, when he was again appointed to the post for a further four-year term.
Professor Chakraborty Banerjee, who was appointed the university’s vice-chancellor in August 2017, ended in August 2021, when he was again appointed to the post for a further four-year term.
Sonali Chakraborty Banerjee’s reappointment as the Chancellor of the University of Calcutta, which was challenged because it was done without the approval of the Chancellor – the Governor of West Bengal – has been set aside by the Calcutta High Court.
Professor Chakraborty Banerjee, who was appointed the university’s vice-chancellor in August 2017, ended in August 2021, when he was again appointed to the post for a further four-year term. The then governor Jagdeep Dhankhar had refused to sign the file saying that his reappointment should be recommended by a selection committee as per the criteria.
It is learned that Mr Dhankhar had returned the file thrice, following which the state government issued a notification which did not require the approval of the Chancellor in appointment, reappointment and extension of service. It invoked Section 60 of the Calcutta University Act, which provides for “removal of difficulties” arising in giving effect to the provisions of the Act and empowers the State Government to pass necessary orders for the purpose of removing the difficulties. Is.
“We find that the State had no power to either appoint or reappoint the Vice-Chancellor under section 8 of the Act (which states that only the Chancellor can appoint/re-appoint a VC) or the residuary section 60 of the Act. With the help of… [Prof. Chakravarti Banerjee] A bench of Chief Justice Prakash Srivastava and Justice Rajarshi Bhardwaj on Tuesday said in an order quashing his reappointment on August 27, 2021, “there is no right to hold the office of the Vice-Chancellor of the University of Calcutta.”
After the order of the High Court, Political Science teacher Prof. Chakraborty Banerjee stopped going to work. With them, the university scored high in several national and international rankings, signed some 25 MoUs with international institutions and also saw a massive refurbishment of its administrative offices on College Street. It is learned that the state government is planning to challenge this order in the Supreme Court.
“Similar cases are going on across the state against the appointments, reappointment and extension of some 30 other V-Cs. If this order is any indication, he may also be asked to step down,” said a Calcutta University official.