Patna, Feb. 2: Patna High Court today stripped the powers of the vice-chancellors of Magadh University, Bodhgaya, and Veer Kuer Singh University, Ara, till further orders.

Hearing the petition challenging the appointment of the vice-chancellors, Justice Ajay Kumar Tripathi asked the state government and the chancellor to file counter affidavits in two weeks.

The court order was passed on a petition filed by Pramod Kumar Singh, a teacher of SP Jain College of Ara.

Singh alleged the appointment of Arvind Kumar and Subhash Prasad Sinha as vice-chancellor of Magadh University and Veer Kuer Singh University respectively was in violation of the provisions of Bihar State University Act, 1976, which says that the chancellor should make the appointments in consultation with the state government.

In the present case, the petitioner alleged the chancellor did not hold any consultation with the state government over appointing the vice-chancellors.

Singh added Arvind Kumar, the Magadh University vice-chancellor, does not have a blemish-free record as allegations of financial embezzlement had been levelled against him when he was the vice-chancellor of Vinoba Bhave University, Hazaribagh.

Similarly, Sinha, the vice-chancellor of Veer Kuer Singh University, does not have the requisite qualifications to be appointed as the vice-chancellor. Sinha does not have a single contribution, published against his name, in any standard books and research papers, Singh contended.

He added there could be every possibility of corruption and political intervention behind the two appointments.

Singh also said the office of chancellor recently appointed registrar and controller of examinations at Veer Kuer Singh University in an illegal and arbitrary manner without inviting applications from other eligible candidates.

Last year there had been an unprecedented row between the chancellor and the state government too over the appointment of Kumar and Sinha as the chancellor had appointed them without taking the state government into confidence.

The human resource development department did not recognise the new vice-chancellors and issued a directive to seize the financial powers of the new vice-chancellors.

The pro-vice-chancellors were asked to function as the vice-chancellors of the respective universities. The matter was settled after the intervention of chief minister Nitish Kumar.