The Supreme Court on Monday refused to interfere with the appointment of the new Vice Chancellor for Aligarh Muslim University, which is to get a new head in May this year.
In a PIl which alleged that the current Vice-Chancellor, lt Gen Zameeruddin Shah had no befitting academic qualification as per the University Grants Commission (UGC) guidelines, the university informed the court that a panel of three names had been forwarded to the President of India, of whom one would be appointed as V-C. Senior advocate Raju Ramachandran who appeared for AMU stated that all three fulfilled academic criteria as per UGC requirements. However, he submitted that the University was not bound by UGC regulations due to its minority character.
The Bench of CJI JS Khehar and Justice NV Ramana recorded this submission while refusing to go into the said appointment. It, however, kept the question open for consideration whether AMU being a Central University can claim exemption from UGC on account of being a minority institution.