The state government on Tuesday told the high court that it was up to the vice-chancellors to decide whether student elections would be held in universities and affiliated colleges — a shift from the state’s earlier stance.
Campus elections have been stalled in many parts of Bengal since 2013. On Tuesday, the court heard petitions demanding their resumption.
“The state has no objection if universities hold student body elections. They are also free to conduct polls in affiliated colleges,” senior advocate Kalyan Bandyopadhyay, representing the state, told the division bench of Justices Sujoy Pal and Smita Das De.
This prompted the court to direct that 365 colleges and 10 universities be made parties to the ongoing cases.
On July 17, Bandyopadhyay had told the court: “We don’t want to hold polls under officiating VCs who are political appointees. According to the Supreme Court, officiating VCs can’t take policy decisions.”
An education department official said that the scenario has since changed, with two more full-term VCs appointed in August — at Rabindra Bharati University and Coochbehar Panchanan Barma University. “The appointment process, overseen by a Supreme Court-appointed committee, is almost complete in other institutions,” the official said.
By April, 17 universities had full-term VCs. But disagreements between the Bengal governor and the government over names suggested by the panel led the court to intervene. The panel, led by former Chief Justice U.U. Lalit, interviewed aspirants from August 19 to 21.
“Any VC appointed through the committee is free to conduct polls,” said the official.
The next hearing is scheduled for November 30.