The Gujarat High Court has sought clarification from the counsel of the respondent regarding the appointment of the Vice Chancellor of the Maharaja Sayajirao University, Baroda.
The court’s query came in response to a petition filed by Satish Pradyumna Pathak, challenging the appointment of the Vice Chancellor.
During the hearing, the court was informed that the state government had accepted the resignation of respondent number 6, the Vice Chancellor, and had handed over the charge to Professor Dhanesh Patel, Dean, Department of Technology and Engineering, with immediate effect.
The counsel for respondent number 6 submitted that since the resignation had been accepted and the charge had been handed over, nothing remained to be adjudicated in the petition.
However, the court raised a pertinent query regarding the appointment of respondent number 6 as the Vice Chancellor, pointing out that he did not possess the required work experience as a Professor on the date of his appointment.
The Division Bench of Chief Justice Sunita Agarwal and Justice Pranav Trivedi also questioned how respondent number 6 could be permitted to take benefit of his appointment as Vice Chancellor when his appointment was prima facie illegal from the inception.
The counsel for respondent number 6 sought an adjournment to respond to the court’s queries, which was granted.
The matter has been listed for further hearing on January 20, 2025.