Agri varsity VC’s appointment: HC imposes cost of

The Himachal Pradesh high court has imposed cost of ₹7,000 on the state government as it failed to file reply to a petition challenging the appointment process of the vice-chancellor (V-C) at the Chaudhary Sharwan Kumar Agriculture and Allied Sciences University, Palampur.
The high court taking note of the failure of the state government has directed them to deposit the cost of ₹7,000 with the Himachal Pradesh state legal services authority while granting them two weeks’ time to file reply as requested by the state government.
“Since the counter affidavit has not been filed, a request is made for extension of time for filing the counter affidavit. We are inclined to grant further two weeks for the said purpose, subject to costs being enhanced to ₹7,000,” ruled the division bench of chief justice Rajiv Shakdher and justice Satyen Vaidya on October 15, 2024, during the resumed hearing of the petition filed by Arvind Bindra of Chaudhary Sharwan Kumar Agriculture and Allied Sciences University, Palampur. It may be mentioned that the state had failed to file response even when high court bench had imposed a cost of ₹5,000 on September 24.
Bindra had moved the high court in May this year, challenging the appointment process of the V-C at the university. The case now comes up for hearing on October 29, 2024. It may be mentioned that the high court had issued an interim stay on the notification regarding the appointment of a V-C at Chaudhary Sharwan Kumar Agriculture University. Bindra, had challenged the qualifications for filling the V-C post, saying that they did not align with the University Grants Commission (UGC) qualifications.
It may be mentioned that the Himachal Pradesh Vidhan Sabha recently passed legislation amending the provisions for the appointment of vice-chancellors in state universities, including Chaudhary Sharwan Kumar Agriculture University, Palampur, and Dr YS Parmar University, Nauni. However, Himachal Pradesh governor Shiv Pratap Shukla, has not yet given his assent to the legislation. The issue has brought Raj Bhavan and the state government to loggerheads delaying the appointment of V-Cs in various universities.