The University Grants Commission (UGC) has accused the Tamil Nadu government of having excluded its nominee from the University of Madras Vice-Chancellor (V-C) search panel with a malicious intention. It has also attributed political motives behind the exclusion.
In a counter affidavit filed before the Madras High Court, the UGC asserted that its nominee should be included in the V-C search panel of even State universities, and this position had been made clear by the Supreme Court in a catena of decisions rendered since 2020.
The counter was filed before the first Division Bench of Chief Justice Sanjay V. Gangapurwala and Justice D. Bharatha Chakravarthy, who were hearing a public interest litigation petition preferred by advocate B. Jagannath seeking inclusion of the UGC nominee in the search panel.
