The Supreme Court has moved the hearing on the dispute over the appointment of vice chancellors in Bengal’s universities from September 26 to September 22, following a request from the Mamata Banerjee government.
The issue has sparked a political clash between the ruling Trinamool Congress and governor C.V. Ananda Bose.
A bench comprising Justice Surya Kant and Justice Joymalya Bagchi agreed to a change of dates upon a special request made by senior advocate Jaideep Gupta representing Bengal. The court will be on a week-long vacation from September 29 for Dussehra.
“On the oral mentioning and on the joint request of learned senior/counsel for the parties, the next date of hearing in this matter is preponed and the same is ordered to be listed on 22.09.2025(Monday) instead of 26.08.2025,” the bench said in a written order.
Earlier on August 1, the bench had tentatively cleared the name of Sonali Chakraborty for appointment as vice chancellor of Rabindra Bharati University, but refrained from clearing the names of vice chancellors for 16 other universities.
The court asked the search cum selection committee, headed by former Chief Justice of India, U.U. Lalit, to give its final opinion on the 16 universities that remained the bone of contention between the governor and the chief minister.
In an order, the bench had requested Justice Lalit and the committee headed by him to examine the names of “second” and “third preferences” given by the governor to the state and give their opinion on the suitability and eligibility of the candidates.
Earlier, on July 8 last year, the SC had constituted a “search cum selection committee” for all universities in Bengal to break the logjam between Mamata and Bose.
The Apex court had passed the order while dealing with an appeal filed by the Bengal government and certain PIL petitioners who challenged the Calcutta High Court’s concurrent judgments of a single judge and a division bench upholding the interim appointment made by the governor to various universities.