The Himachal Pradesh High Court has struck down provisions that gave the state government a decisive role in appointing vice-chancellors (VCs) of the state’s agricultural universities.
The directions were passed by the division bench comprising Justice Vivek Singh Thakur and Justice Ranjan Sharma while allowing writ petitions filed by Narender Kumar Sankhyan and Sanjeev Kumar Chauhan challenging the amended selection process for appointment of vice-chancellors at Chaudhary Sarwan Kumar Himachal Pradesh Krishi Vishvavidyalaya (CSKHPKV), Palampur, and Dr Yashwant Singh Parmar University of Horticulture and Forestry, Solan. The bench held that the state’s decision to exclude a nominee of the UGC chairman and alter the prescribed composition of the committee was contrary to the mandatory UGC framework. The court also found fault with the appointment of the chief secretary of the state as chairperson of the Search-cum-Selection Committee,.
The court also held that a 2025 amendment to the Act was unconstitutional and ordered a fresh selection process for two VCs strictly under University Grants Commission (UGC) norms. The court directed that any fresh selection process for the posts must be conducted strictly in accordance with the applicable UGC Regulations, 2018.
A key issue before the court was the composition of the Search-cum-Selection Committee.
