West Bengal academics object to certain members of panel selecting V-Cs for 15 State universities

A section of academicians from West Bengal has questioned the presence of certain members in the selection panel for the appointment of Vice-Chancellors (V-C) to about 15 universities in the State.

The academicians have objected to the participation in the panel of Ramesh Chandra, former V-C of Maharaja Surajmal Brij University, Bharatpur, Rajasthan, who is facing graft charges, and also retired Indian Administrative Service (IAS) officer S.K. Pattanayak, who is serving in the Raj Bhavan.

Professor Chandra was recently removed by the Governor of Rajasthan for allegedly misusing his position and embezzling funds. He is part of the selection panel that’s likely to select the V-C of the Maulana Abul Kalam Azad University of Technology, Kolkata, sources in the West Bengal Higher Education Department said.

“There are several serious allegations against Prof. Ramesh Chandra and those allegations are under investigation. We do not want such people to be part of the selection panel as it would undermine the whole process of selecting Vice-Chancellors,” Professor Subhradeep Maitra of Raiganj University in West Bengal’s Uttar Dinajpur district said. “It wasn’t clear why Prof. Chandra was serving on the panel, or who he was representing,” Prof. Maitra said.

In a related development, Manas Kabi, general secretary of the All Bengal Principals’ Council, has written a letter to the Chief Justice of India Justice (retd.) U.U. Lalit, Chairperson of the selection panel.

In the letter, Prof. Kabi said Mr. Pattanayak had been included in the list of experts in the selection committee, “perhaps without being aware of the fact that he had retired as an official of Raj Bhavan [and is] serving the Hon’ble Chancellor since his retirement”.

“Now that the process has re-started, we humbly request you to review the suitability of Shri Pattanayak’s inclusion in the Selection Committees for recommending candidates for the post of Vice-Chancellors in Sanskrit College and University and Netaji Subhas Open University. As a top ranking official, working for the Hon’ble Chancellor, his impartiality in the process remains open to question, since the Hon’ble Chief Minister and Hon’ble Chancellor have taken different positions regarding the choice of candidates as revealed in the Hon’ble Supreme Court Order dated 1st August 2025,” the letter stated.

For the past several years the West Bengal government and the Raj Bhavan have been on a collision course over the appointment of V-Cs. A special leave petition was filed by the West Bengal government, challenging the June 2023 judgment of the Calcutta High Court, which had upheld the interim V-C appointments for State universities made by Governor C.V. Ananda Bose.

In July 2024, the Supreme Court had intervened to resolve the ongoing stand-off between the State and the Governor by forming a search-cum-selection committee chaired by former CJI Lalit.

Earlier this month, the Supreme Court modified its previous directions, and entrusted the former CJI and the selection committee headed by him with the responsibility of independently determining the most suitable candidates for appointment to the 15 universities.

Vice-Chancellors to 17 out of 35 State universities have already been appointed in accordance with the Supreme Court’s order, and the selection process for the remaining vacancies is likely to be held in the next few days.